Three things:
1. First off, as for the question posed, let me just get something obvious out of the way before offering my opinion: There are perhaps three people on this board who know the current bandmembers, band management, and MP better than me. (maybe a couple of others I am unaware of or am forgetting) It's not like I would be over at any of their houses for Sunday dinner or anything. And given the history of the band, I am a
relative newcomer in terms of actually
knowing any of them personally. But I know them better than most here.
And that being said, my answer is: I don't have any clue.
There are certainly MANY factors that seem to weigh heavily against it, such as: (1) The band have said that they have no intention of bringing in anyone new in
any position; (2) They have all said they
REALLY like having Mangini in the band, and he has said the same; (3) They play to a click now, which JP
REALLY likes, and MP would likely not want to do that; (4) There was somewhat of a rift between James and Mike, and although it is likely that time has lessened that rift, we don't know how much; and (5) Things are just different now, and a lot of things would have to change internally within the structure of the band for MP to return.
But none of those are insurmountable. Mangini could step down tomorrow. The band could decide to part ways with him due to "creative differences" we are unaware of, or any number of other things. As Kev pointed out in his post on page 1, even if there were issues or even if they had a rough contingency plan in the back of their minds if and when something were to happen, they wouldn't voice that to the public. We have no idea. JP and band management are pretty comfortable around me, and have let me in on some "secrets" and behind-the-scenes stuff, but they almost for sure wouldn't share that kind of stuff.
That said, whenever I have seen them and talked to them, they have seemed very happy with how things are now, including Mangini. I have seen nothing to indicate that he would leave in the forseeable future. But he could. And if he did, I can't say whether the band would ask MP back. If you hypothetically sat the four of them down and tried to make them answer, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them couldn't, or if they had differing opinions that couldn't be worked out together until they actually found themselves in a situation where they had to decide. Personally, I could see it going either way.
So, yeah, my honest answer is: I don't know. If I had to speculate, my educated guess is that I don't see it realistically happening in the near future, and more likely than not, not happening in the long term either. But I wouldn't be even slightly shocked if it did.
2. Second, yes, this topic has been beaten to death. But it is a legitimate question, as long as the discussion is kept respectful. There is no need to bash the person who posted the question, or to second-guess his motives, his fandom, or how long he has been here. Honestly, it's kind of nice to have the discussion confined to a dedicated thread rather than having it come up as a tangent in several others.
3. Regarding this:
I know we have a couple of lawyers here. I would be interested in hearing their take on what they believe the legal structure of the band would have to be in order for MP to return.
I don't think any of us can speculate, because that is ultimately something the 4 existing members and MP would have to decide among themselves based on what they
want to see happen, and what they can legally do based on the existing corporate documents. I don't know for certain how things are structured now. But my educated guess is that, relevant to what you are asking, it is something like this:
Each member is likely paid a base salary from the parent corporation (or from whichever subsidiary handles payroll). I would hazard a guess that the base salaries are close to equal, if not completely equal, but that is entirely a factor of what the band members agreed to. Above that, certain members might perhaps be entitled to additional compensation based on other roles they have taken on. Again, I don't know for certain whether that is how they are currently structured, but it would not be surprising either way. Beyond that, they can opt to pay out discretionary bonuses (usually at the end of the tax year) after all other expenses are paid based on how the company performed financially, how much is in the bank, etc. Those could be equal, or could have weighted percentages based on any number of factors.
I think one of the things you might have been getting at in your post, Jammin, is whether Mangini is an owner or just an employee. The first line item I mentioned above (base salary) is likely the same or close to it, whether or not he is an owner. The other two items could vary wildly based on whether or not he is an owner. That is especially true of item 3. If he is only an employee, the corporate documents could very likely spell out that he is not entitled to any bonuses or other compensation that the owners would get on top of their base salaries. But I have no idea whether or not he is an owner. [note: they are ALL employees; the distinction I am making is that the other 4 are likely owners in addition to being employees. Not sure about Mangini's status. And another wrinkle is that various members likely fulfill corporate officer rules as well, which they could have decided would entitle those filling those roles to additional compensation.]
In terms of specific duties assigned to different members, that is largely up to them as well. Some of it might be spelled out in the corporate documents. Other stuff might be decided informally. Hard to say. We know MP did a LOT when he was in the band. Whether or not he would take on all of those duties if he hypothetically returned to the band isn't likely a legal question, but just a question of what he and the others would want to do.
But that said, I am not aware of any specific legal impediment to MP returning, or to him assuming none, some, or all of the roles he had before. It is just a question of what they could agree to.
[*also note that, of the lawyers on the board, I believe PG has more specific entertainment law experience than I do, and may be able to weigh in to provide additional detail and insight, and possibly correct some things I have said, if he is so inclined]
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tl;dnr:
Poll
Topic: YOUR pct of chances that MP EVER returns to DT (Read 14995 times)