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Dream Theater => Dream Theater => Topic started by: wrighty on July 15, 2017, 06:50:04 AM
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Stupid question, or is it...
Can a band such as Dream Theater be a legally defined entity, independent of whoever happens to be playing in the band at the time? Is there any reason that when JP and JM retire from the band that they can't be replaced, leaving DT with no original members, but they still write, record, tour, and play a mix of new and old material?
When MP left he may have been thought irreplaceable, but he wasn't.
Some bands are defined by a constant line-up throughout their full existence. Rush (except for the first album) and Queen spring to mind. Others change personnel every record. DT are somewhere in between, with if my counting is correct, 9 members so far on the records, so roughly one replacement every 3 or 4 records, or on average every 7 years. Could this continue for ever, with new people coming in whenever one leaves, such that we'll have a Dream Theater as a living entity in 2067?
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I believe the band DGM consists of no original members. Their name in fact has an initial of one of the founders, so they wouldn't be the only band.
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If they do it gradually so that one new member at a time becomes established before the next one goes, then yes, in theory DT could keep going ad infinitum. They've replaced members already, so there's nothing stopping them doing it again and again and again. Of course, they're probably past the stage where the original members can lap themselves by all quitting one by one over the course of several years, then the original lineup getting back together again but unable to use the name Dream Theater because the original band they were in is Dream Theater.
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Of course every band could go on forever replacing the members one by one.
But why would they? a band is not an institution or even a government... popes and presidents come and go, but a band starts with an idea of certain members, what's the point in going to see whoever has been considered to play good enough like John Petrucci in 2030? would you all go to see "the Beatles" if the band had lived on with said members rotation, with both living members dropping out as well? how many people cared for the "bogus Deep Purple" with only the original singer, at a time when the classic line-up seemed dead and gone?
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I think i saw a Gene Simmons interview talking about doing that with Kiss.
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I think i saw a Gene Simmons interview talking about doing that with Kiss.
Well, they already replaced two original members with other musicians wearing the same make-up and essentially portraying the same stage characters. With Dream Theater it's all about the music, unless the management in charge of "Operation DT forever" wants to go look for a guitarist that will grow a longass beard and an asian bassist who is ok with wearing black for 20 years.
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I think i saw a Gene Simmons interview talking about doing that with Kiss.
That's just a Gene selling point for using a fake Ace and fake Peter.
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I think i saw a Gene Simmons interview talking about doing that with Kiss.
That's just a Gene selling point for using a fake Ace and fake Peter.
Maybe, but if he thought that he could keep making money off of the deal well after his retirement then I'm sure that it wouldn't phase him a single bit to do it.
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There is some truth to that.
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I didn't know about Kiss, but I suppose it would be easier for them as they (mostly at least) played as characters, a bit like Alice Cooper. Another, far more lame example, was the Village People - no-one knew who they were, and they could get anyone to dress up as a builder, motorcycle cop etc.
My point about DT I suppose was to ask if any of them are irreplaceable? I think if JM left it wouldn't be much of a problem and we could have 'the spirit carries on part II', but right now if JP, JLB or JR wanted to quit I suspect the band would fold. If MM left would the other MM get the call?
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Petrucci cannot be replaced. As main songwriter without him just it isn't DT anymore. Jordan's loss would be a huge blow as well, but maybe a blow that could be survived more than the eventual departure of JP.
Should James leave with JP and JR remaining, it would sound like "Dream Theater but with another singer" (well, d'uh). Something would be way off.
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No.
But another band with no original members anymore is also Stratovarious.
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It could be called the Dream Theater Legacy. Foreigner only has one original member left and the name could live on. Boston is down to the original founding member Tom Scholz, although Gary Pihl has been with them for a long time (pun intended), and is a great guitar player.
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At over 100 yrs old? :rollin
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Someone didn't read the first post :police:
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I don't really see them doing that. And I don't even want them to. Even more than anyone else, I consider Petrucci the key member. When he retires that's it. It's no longer Dream Theater
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I don't really see them doing that. And I don't even want them to. Even more than anyone else, I consider Petrucci the key member. When he retires that's it. It's no longer Dream Theater
/thread
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I do wonder if, for example, 100 years from now, the various record labels will put together replica bands of their most popular acts to tour around America and Europe. Maybe by then, no one will care anymore, but I could also see a situation where it would be fairly profitable for an officially commissioned Pink Floyd cover band to play some shows and satisfy demand for those songs.
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I do wonder if, for example, 100 years from now, the various record labels will put together replica bands of their most popular acts to tour around America and Europe. Maybe by then, no one will care anymore, but I could also see a situation where it would be fairly profitable for an officially commissioned Pink Floyd cover band to play some shows and satisfy demand for those songs.
That's actually a quite interesting topic for a discussion. Could Gilmour put something like this into his will, or eventually after X decades the rights to the songs will revert back to the label? I'm ignorant about this, could it be like classical music (who owns the right to Beethoven's nine symphonies?) and we would have people watching performances of long dead Beatles, Stones and Floyd just like we watch Mozart's music in theatres?
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I do wonder if, for example, 100 years from now, the various record labels will put together replica bands of their most popular acts to tour around America and Europe. Maybe by then, no one will care anymore, but I could also see a situation where it would be fairly profitable for an officially commissioned Pink Floyd cover band to play some shows and satisfy demand for those songs.
That's actually a quite interesting topic for a discussion. Could Gilmour put something like this into his will, or eventually after X decades the rights to the songs will revert back to the label? I'm ignorant about this, could it be like classical music (who owns the right to Beethoven's nine symphonies?) and we would have people watching performances of long dead Beatles, Stones and Floyd just like we watch Mozart's music in theatres?
That is a really interesting topic. I think the rights would vary from artist to artist the way they have their deals set up. A band like Metallica, for example, now owns the masters to all their albums because they started their own label.
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As others have said, I believe JP is irreplaceable and the band would not continue without him as he is the main songwriter and soloist. The others are replaceable, not sure why people would suggest that the band would fold without JR when they existed before he joined and many consider their classic albums are pre-JR with the possible exception of SFAM.
The band would certainly sound different if JLB left as he has such a distinctive style but don't think they would necessarily fold, it was a pretty arduous process to find him in the first place though so would be interesting to see if they wanted to go through that again. I still think Portnoy will be back at some stage.
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I'm not so sure about it. When DT will become so old that it will become a special occasion to see them, he may be seen around again, but until they're an "active" band that writes records every 2-3 years, tours and plays new songs, my guess is that they will continue with Mangini.
And Rudess and LaBrie may not be irreplaceable in the sense that DT would quit over them - but the change (especially without James) would be so different that something would feel quite off about it.
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I remember Rick Wakeman said something similar about Yes, that it would keep continuing on with ever changing members. For DT if either Petrucci or Labrie left it would not be DT anymore. Main song writer and the voice.
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I do wonder if, for example, 100 years from now, the various record labels will put together replica bands of their most popular acts to tour around America and Europe. Maybe by then, no one will care anymore, but I could also see a situation where it would be fairly profitable for an officially commissioned Pink Floyd cover band to play some shows and satisfy demand for those songs.
That's actually a quite interesting topic for a discussion. Could Gilmour put something like this into his will, or eventually after X decades the rights to the songs will revert back to the label? I'm ignorant about this, could it be like classical music (who owns the right to Beethoven's nine symphonies?) and we would have people watching performances of long dead Beatles, Stones and Floyd just like we watch Mozart's music in theatres?
I've thought about this before. When you go to a piano recital you don't demand your money back because Mr Rachmaninov himself is nor performing the C#min prelude. It's a bit like it with Queen now - they're still going with another singer, but there's an official cover band doing the rounds and several unofficial tribute bands of varying quality. Don't know if DT are popular enough to do the same in the future as unlike Queen their appeal is fairly niche. Beatles, Stones and Floyd however probably are.
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I've created a topic about this in the General Music section, since I felt it was worth its own thread.
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I don't really see them doing that. And I don't even want them to. Even more than anyone else, I consider Petrucci the key member. When he retires that's it. It's no longer Dream Theater
Pretty much this. But the sort of thing the OP mentions happens so rarely and through such typically unforseeable circumstances that I don't know how you would go about trying to predict something like that. I think you have to have a couple of things converge that are key. One is younger members coming into the band that want to carry on the legacy. And another is that you have to have songs and a brand that are financially worth keeping intact and carrying on.
Could the first circumstance arise? I'm not seeing it as something highly likely, but it's possible. Like, let's say Portnoy some day came back to the band down the road at some point, but then a bit further down the line, he decided to retire, and the guys brought in Max Portnoy to fill in and he eventually became full-time. Or let's say James maybe calls it quits one day and they then bring in a younger singer who can belt out all of the notes to I&W as only 20-something year old can, and then that guy stays in the band over the years as they gradually replace members. Unlikely. But it could happen.
But as to the second circumstance, I don't see it. I mean, this isn't a knock on DT, but I just don't see the "DT brand" as being strong enough that people 30 years from now are going to want to hear the songs. This is a band that have done well for themselves. But they aren't some huge entity where the name alone draws in huge crowds wherever they go.
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I think i saw a Gene Simmons interview talking about doing that with Kiss.
Well, they already replaced two original members with other musicians wearing the same make-up and essentially portraying the same stage characters. With Dream Theater it's all about the music, unless the management in charge of "Operation DT forever" wants to go look for a guitarist that will grow a longass beard and an asian bassist who is ok with wearing black for 20 years.
Omg I laughed so hard!!
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What about holographs? Isn't there supposed to be a Dio holograph concert? If that becomes a thing in the future, maybe bands will love in digitally with a backing band touring. Who knows. But I definitely could see record labels and concert promoters getting creative if they had to, but I'm going to guess they won't have to. New bands will come and old ones will fade. Most people aren't going to be interested in seeing Dream Theater with no original members in 50 years from now anymore than they would want to see a Dream Theater cover band. I just don't think the audience really wants this, plus the idea of original music from such a group seems odd as all the inspiration and ideas for what created the band are no longer there. It's all possible, I just find it unlikely.
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What about holographs? Isn't there supposed to be a Dio holograph concert? If that becomes a thing in the future, maybe bands will love in digitally with a backing band touring. Who knows. But I definitely could see record labels and concert promoters getting creative if they had to, but I'm going to guess they won't have to. New bands will come and old ones will fade. Most people aren't going to be interested in seeing Dream Theater with no original members in 50 years from now anymore than they would want to see a Dream Theater cover band. I just don't think the audience really wants this, plus the idea of original music from such a group seems odd as all the inspiration and ideas for what created the band are no longer there. It's all possible, I just find it unlikely.
Thinking about that kinda makes me sad but oh well that's life maybe in the next 100 years there will be another band with a different Name that will have their own set of own compositions but would also do cover versions of DT songs.
Hey DT did it with a full version of Master of Puppets Album.
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Hey DT did it with a full version of Master of Puppets Album.
Someone down the line may find interesting to perform Scenes from a Memory, I reckon.
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Hey DT did it with a full version of Master of Puppets Album.
Someone down the line may find interesting to perform Scenes from a Memory, I reckon.
Or the Astonishing during a time when Music is only composed by robots!
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Hey DT did it with a full version of Master of Puppets Album.
Someone down the line may find interesting to perform Scenes from a Memory, I reckon.
Or the Astonishing during a time when Music is only composed by robots!
Ha, can you imagine it? music goes the artificial way and someone finds out "Hey, these dudes 90 years ago got it right!" :D
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Hey DT did it with a full version of Master of Puppets Album.
Someone down the line may find interesting to perform Scenes from a Memory, I reckon.
Or the Astonishing during a time when Music is only composed by robots!
Ha, can you imagine it? music goes the artificial way and someone finds out "Hey, these dudes 90 years ago got it right!" :D
By that time they might start worshiping Lord Petrucci as a real God of Guitar Music.
On a more serious note, this is an interesting thread I have been thinking about this my self.
Like will there be some sort of official cover bands in the future? Like others of said it is possible for some of the more marketable bands like the Deep Purple, Metallica etc, but Dream Theater is still gaining more and more exposure despite they have been in the industry for like 30 years plus.
Although I don't think there will be a permanent Dream Theater cover band it will be more of seasonal thing like for example a Prog Metal Band in the future name Band X will be pressented as Dream Theater in some shows, and market it as "Band X" as Dream Theater".
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I had opened a discussion about it, having the idea partly from this very thread:
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=50524.0
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Is such a thing even possible?
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4410/36823318311_20e90ab742.jpg)
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A version of Dream Theater, but with different/younger members? Where have I seen that before? :justjen *Looks at MP Shattered Fortress* :lol
Now, seriously, I have no problem with new people replacing the current members, one by one, after they leave, retire or whatever. That's happened with many bands through the years (Megadeth, Stratovarius, Yes, etc). IMO, as long as the band leader/main writer remains, it's no big deal, really.
In the case of DT, like some have already said, Petrucci is (and has always been, no matter what people say about MP) clearly the leader and main songwriter there. As long as there's JP in DT, the band can carry on with different members (of course, the quality should still be up to the DT standards), and it would work just fine.
Take JM, for example, it would suck to see him leave, but aqfter some time has passed, it would't be such a big deal, and he's still one of the two DT members, along with JP, who don't get some/a lot of criticism for their style (JLB, JR and MM usually do).
As I've previously said on a couple other threads, I see James leaving (or being asked to leave) because of his voice limitations in a couple years. Same with Jordan, he'll probably retire after a couple more album cycles due to his age. Should DT continue without them? Sure. As long as the band keeps JP and continues to make great music, I'm in :metal
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Interesting Dream Theater album "Beyond this life!"
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A version of Dream Theater, but with different/younger members? Where have I seen that before? :justjen *Looks at MP Shattered Fortress* :lol
Now, seriously, I have no problem with new people replacing the current members, one by one, after they leave, retire or whatever. That's happened with many bands through the years (Megadeth, Stratovarius, Yes, etc). IMO, as long as the band leader/main writer remains, it's no big deal, really.
In the case of DT, like some have already said, Petrucci is (and has always been, no matter what people say about MP) clearly the leader and main songwriter there. As long as there's JP in DT, the band can carry on with different members (of course, the quality should still be up to the DT standards), and it would work just fine.
Take JM, for example, it would suck to see him leave, but aqfter some time has passed, it would't be such a big deal, and he's still one of the two DT members, along with JP, who don't get some/a lot of criticism for their style (JLB, JR and MM usually do).
As I've previously said on a couple other threads, I see James leaving (or being asked to leave) because of his voice limitations in a couple years. Same with Jordan, he'll probably retire after a couple more album cycles due to his age. Should DT continue without them? Sure. As long as the band keeps JP and continues to make great music, I'm in :metal
James leaving in a couple years?! I'm not ready for this... :omg: Do you really think he'll be quitting in a few years?!
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James leaving in a couple years?! I'm not ready for this... :omg: Do you really think he'll be quitting in a few years?!
Well, of course there's really no way to know if this is going to happen or not. Maybe James gets his voice in much better shape in the next couple years and stays in the band for the rest of their career. However, judging by his recent (2016-2017) live performances, he seems to be struggling a lot to keep up with the songs (both old and new), so I think there's a strong chance of him being replaced sometime in the not-so-distant future. Just my thoughts, though.
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Performing I&W every evening in its entirety has not been the best choice for his voice. Of course I appreciated it so much, but just a couple of songs here and there from those years would be OK as well!!!
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To answer the OP, anything is possible. Yes, technically, has no original members.
The statement that "Petrucci is irreplaceable" is just opinion, and might ruin the DT experience for you personally, but there is absolutely no reason that he could not be replaced, should he (or more correctly, the group that owns the name) allows it to happen.
I have no doubt that Gene Simmons has an angle that involves money, but Paul has said the same thing, and I think - at least in some of the interviews - that it was meant more existentially. That "KISS" the entity was bigger than any one person, and whether you like the various incarnations or not, it IS. They have, at various times, played with replacements for ALL FOUR members, and survived.
It's all down to the ownership of the name and the authority of the members that control that name. And it need not be a band member. Let's say I was the manager of "Yes", and let's say Chris Squire was the sole owner of the name. If as part of the estate planning process, he transferred that name to me upon his death, I could, legally, float an official version of "Yes", and pick five new members to comprise that band. Whether it would sell music, whether it would attract fans, whether it would be credible, these are all legit questions, but none of them actually decide whether it's possible or not.
Except in the event that one member - Steve Harris (Maiden), David Coverdale (Whitesnake), Neal Schon (Journey) likely fall into this group - owns the name and controls the entity, the idea that a band member is "irreplaceable" is largely opinion, and largely about taste and preference. For example, to me, Sabbath isn't Ozzy or Iommi (though also Iommi) but Geezer. I saw Sabbath multiple times with Geezer and without, and it's a different band without him, and an inferior band if you ask me in my humble opinion. I am a die-hard Kiss fan, and frankly, having seen the band multiple times with and without Peter Criss, he's a liability. It's a better, truer Kiss WITH Eric Singer in the band than with Peter Criss, if you ask me in my humble opinion. I understand and respect that others see different, but at the end of the day, our opinions are meaningless, and only Tony and Ozzy can decide (for Sabbath) and Paul and Gene (for Kiss). We can only choose not to go or not to buy.
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When MP left he may have been thought irreplaceable, but he wasn't.
Some people still disagree with you :-)
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As a DT tribute band, sure. As DT? Nope.
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I don't really see them doing that. And I don't even want them to. Even more than anyone else, I consider Petrucci the key member. When he retires that's it. It's no longer Dream Theater
It stopped being Dream Theater the day Charlie Dominici laced up his high tops and swaggered out of the room.
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I don't think it has been mentioned? Sorry if I'm repeating it. Is there a precedent for a rock band continuing after all original members have died?
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When MP left he may have been thought irreplaceable, but he wasn't.
Some people still disagree with you :-)
But not the DT guys :-)
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When MP left he may have been thought irreplaceable, but he wasn't.
Some people still disagree with you :-)
But not the DT guys :-)
Myung wishes MP was still in the band. When MP wanted back in shortly after his impulse-driven departure, Myung suggested they let him come back to play his Taurus 3 pedals. Unfortunately, he was overruled.
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This mostly depends on where you stand with the problem of Thaddeus' Ship.
My personal belief is that "Thaddeus' Ship" (within the context of the problem) is a tangibly meaningless name, an identity made by humans who just did so to simplify things, which we all do, constantly, at a subconscious level. The strength of its identity is significantly, but not completely, based on the sum of the contributions of its parts to said identity.
In my opinion the name and the identity of Dream Theater does not hinge on the presence of John Petrucci. If the ship had been completely replaced gradually, except the sails were original, the ship would not cease to be worthy of the title "Thaddeus' Ship" if the sails were replaced. If JP retired, and at some point in the future, a band called Dream Theater was touring with JR, MP, MM, JLB, and a worthy guitarist, I would take no issue. I feel similarly in the practical example of Robert Fripp. This applies even moreso because King Crimson's identity as a music group is dominated with several generations of frontmen, and his contributions are a minority to that identity.
Dream Theater, however, has not had "new parts" since it was new itself. The five original members of Majesty were born in 1967. Every band member that has joined since 1987 has been older than these five (Sherinian only marginally so, but he was still not younger), so the idea of new members perpetually keeping the band active doesn't really work. Additionally, DT's identity has become fairly solidified by now. ADToE and DTXII generally seem to be considered very "safe" albums that do not tread much new ground. The three albums of the past ten years that tried to deviate from the formula have been rather controversial. Live performances have become quite a bit more predictable and "Greatest Hits"-oriented in recent years. JP and JLB are considered vital parts of DT's identity. JM has to a similar extent. JR is also closely associated, but the history of keyboardists in the band kind of limits how heavily his contributions play into the identity. MM came when DT's identity was pretty solid, and was selected because of how well he can maintain the stylistic status quo (aka his "chemistry" with the rest of the band).
Basically, unless DT starts to become more stylistically dynamic again, to the point that their identity starts to grow (think the radical shift of 80s King Crimson), the era from Images and Words through about Octavarium or so will probably be what people think of when they think "Dream Theater." Thus, the spirit of the band wouldn't be able to survive further replacements. Couple that with the fact that the original members were the youngest, so there wasn't really any generational torch-passing, and the answer is no, IMO.
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I agree with you, Grizz. The general idea of original band members being gradually replaced could work, but in Dream Theater's case, it simply won't. Hell, if DT should colonize Mars to fill it with prog metal leaving Earth behind, and Mike Portnoy would claim the name for Sons of Apollo, that would still feel weird, and at least MP is a founding member. A generational shift with no original members would feel even weirder and just wrong.
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DT's got about 10 years to go max.
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I agree with you, Grizz. The general idea of original band members being gradually replaced could work, but in Dream Theater's case, it simply won't. Hell, if DT should colonize Mars to fill it with prog metal leaving Earth behind, and Mike Portnoy would claim the name for Sons of Apollo, that would still feel weird, and at least MP is a founding member. A generational shift with no original members would feel even weirder and just wrong.
Yes has no original members and are still around, same with Stratovarius.
DT's got about 10 years to go max.
I agree.
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Nobody cared about the first incarnation of Stratovarius (sorry to the few fans of that era). The first incarnation of DT already had Myung, Petrucci and Portnoy.
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I agree with you, Grizz. The general idea of original band members being gradually replaced could work, but in Dream Theater's case, it simply won't. Hell, if DT should colonize Mars to fill it with prog metal leaving Earth behind, and Mike Portnoy would claim the name for Sons of Apollo, that would still feel weird, and at least MP is a founding member. A generational shift with no original members would feel even weirder and just wrong.
Yes has no original members and are still around, same with Stratovarius.
Yes's identity isn't strongly tied to any set of members, especially founding members. Bruford is closely associated with Yes, but Alan White has been playing with them long enough to count as a "legitimate member" of Yes. Squire's dying wish was for Sherwood to keep it going, and Sherwood has history with Yes. Banks isn't as closely associated with Yes as Squire despite being a founder. Kaye isn't too relevant to Yes's identity; most think of Wakeman. Wakeman and Anderson have their own Yes.
Plus, Yes' membership has been a lot more fluid than that of DT, so young blood like Sherwood and Davidson wouldn't be as egregious.
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Clone them and upload their memories to the clones.
Have them play scenes from a memory with lyrics about
Their past lives
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Clone them and upload their memories to the clones.
Have them play scenes from a memory with lyrics about
Their past lives
But Cloned JP might just hunt for NOMACS!!!
Hhhhuuhh Nomacs!!! Must Eat Nomacs!!!!!!!
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Kaye isn't too relevant to Yes's identity; most think of Wakeman.
I'm no expert, but I'm not sure about that. I mean, Tony's playing appears on The Yes Album (which, according to some books/webs I've read, was the band's first successful album in North America) and the two block-buster albums from the '80s.
I do think of Wakeman as the main Yes keyboardist like you said, but that might be just because I've seen more videos of his era in the band, or I like his Yes albums more. I'm sure something equivalent happens to other people with Tony.
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I'll see first if my heart can handle JP's retirement when it comes, it's gonna be as hurtful as the lost of our childhood icons to me.
Hope he'll reincarnate into his own successor, the spirit carries on ;)
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JLB joked in last night's concert that with the warm reception of the crowd, he expect us to still watch them during the 50th anniversary tour. They would be having canes and wheelchairs. :lol
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JLB joked in last night's concert that with the warm reception of the crowd, he expect us to still watch them during the 50th anniversary tour. They would be having canes and wheelchairs. :lol
:rollin Yeah, I can totally picture that.
B.Lee
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JLB joked in last night's concert that with the warm reception of the crowd, he expect us to still watch them during the 50th anniversary tour. They would be having canes and wheelchairs. :lol
Hope they never get to that :lol
I would totally be on board, though, with a couple lineup changes through the years if that helps keep DT alive and strong, at least for a few more years. Many of the older bands (Yes, Journey, etc) have done that and I don't see why DT shouldn't (as long as there's no issues with who has the name rights and all that legal stuff). I just want more DT ;D
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In the YesYears video (released shortly after the Union tour), Rick Wakeman discusses the notion of Yes continuing long after all of the then current members were dead and gone. In that discussion, he draws an allusion to the London Symphony Orchestra. In that regard, any band could continue in perpetuity. Of course symphony orchestras and rock bands operate very differently, including, particularly, the fact that symphony orchestras don't (typically) write original music and, instead, perform compositions of others. The biggest issue for a rock band would be acceptance by the fans. Would the fans accept a Dream Theater without any of Labrie, Myung, Petrucci, Portnoy or Rudess? It's one thing to replace one original member, as when Sherinian replaced Moore and then was replaced by Rudess or when Mangini replaced Portnoy, but the band still has the Labrie/Myung/Petrucci core (I'm intentionally not factoring in Dominici since the band was largely unknown when he left).
I saw Yes a few years back with Squire, Howe, White, Downes and Davison and got to meet the band after the show. Chris's playing was an influence on me way back when, so meeting him was great, and I'd met Howe and White before (although they're not original members, they've both been around so long that they might as well be), but I didn't really care too much about D&D. So, while this is a theoretical possibility, I'm not sure it's practical to think that fans will accept rock bands with no original members or members who were around for the band's heyday.
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Eh, anything's possible, but I think DT leans a lot more towards the "band defined by the personnel" side. The fanbase took it a lot harder when MP left than other bands, the crowds are still smaller because of it and the albums are still very divisive with tons of people claiming it's been happening "since MP left". I really think this nearly broke the band and they couldn't go on with another of the 4 old-time members leaving.
I'm counting LaBrie and Rudess in it too even though they're not founding members because they've been in the band for "quite a while" now and the people who still follow the band regularly most likely consider them irreplaceable at this point. Rudess is a main composer and a leading force in this band, LaBrie is the signature voice. If any of these 4 guys left instead of MP back in 2010 I still think they maybe could've carried on, but 2 primary members leaving, I just can't see this band carrying on like that.
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I'll see first if my heart can handle JP's retirement when it comes, it's gonna be as hurtful as the lost of our childhood icons to me.
Hope he'll reincarnate into his own successor, the spirit carries on ;)
It will indeed a sad day, I hope there will be another day, I think I will be falling into infinity by then until some can take away my pain.
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Could it go on? Yes. But it all depends on who controls the rights etc after the band ends, splits up, etc. I think the Kiss and holographic examples are great comparisons of what could happen. But it's all return on investment, and as stated above DT is a niche band so there would have to be a lot of things ironed out. Time will tell I guess.
I have no interest without the current members, just my opinion.
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I'd only welcome a hologram of Myung tackling LaBrie on stage, but that wasn't even filmed when it happened so I'm not interested.
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Awesome thread, interesting and also funny as hell.. :lol
My answer to the OP would be that it could happen, but I don't see it happen with DT.. Anyways, this only they -will- know..
In order to be a bit empiricist about the issue, I know each band is a different world, but I could say a little more of the Stratovarius case, not only since the Yes one seems to be very well known in general around here (and with reason, being a prog band like DT), but also because it appears to be the ideal of the potential situation we're talking..
1- Petrucci a founding member and the main composer? Well, Timo Tolkki (guitars) was not only that, but also practically the only composer in Stratovarius.. After his departure no one thought the band would keep playing and even less making songs, but they did exactly that, and without folding or losing its fanbase at all.. Moreover, Tolkki was also the one having the rights for the name of the band, but he decided to give them to the band.. So, not even if JP was the only composer and the owner of the names and songs as Tolkki, would be impossible to replace.. This only leaves the "sound/style/talent" aspect over the table.. (Worth to mention that Tolkki's replacement, Matias Kupiainen -a DT fan btw-, is brilliant at playing AND composing)..
2- And here come the "but".. While in DT a replacement was never really younger than the rest of the band (just as Grizz pointed out), Stratovarius has been doing exclusively that.. When back in 2005 the average age of the band was 40, the first replacement (in ten years at least), the bassist Lauri Porra, was only 27.. In 2009, Matias replaced Tolkki with 26 years, and later on in 2012 the drummer Jorg Michael was replace by 24 years old Rolf Pilve (note that the age of the new guy is not only less than the average, but also inversely proportional).. This apparently supports the idea of the legacy, but the thing is that neither Kotipelto or Johansson have in mind to keep doing these kind of replacements, as they both have said in different interviews (well, the two candidates to leave would be precisely them, so maybe that's one important reason for them to not want that ;D).. Again, I just don't think the DT guys would like the idea.. If someone leaves, the most probable is that they replace him with someone with almost the same age, not with their kids (;))..
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Timo Tollki was NOT a founding member of Stratovarius. He was not in the band since day one.
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Timo Tollki was NOT a founding member of Stratovarius. He was not in the band since day one.
Crazy right? Literally all of the founding members could have formed another band like years and years ago, even while Timo was in the band.
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Timo Tollki was NOT a founding member of Stratovarius. He was not in the band since day one.
That's correct.. But he was since the first album, made all the songs and even sung by then.. He was the soul of the band, a lot more than MP in Dream, and that didn't stop the continuity of the band after he left..
But yeah, my bad, not a founding member..
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To be fair, Stratovarius didn't really hit it big or become an influential band until after Kotipelto and Johansson had joined, just like DT didn't have a breakthrough until James came on board and I&W became a success.