Band Math

One of the greatest and most influential punk bands to come out of L.A. in the 70s was The Zeros. Check that — one of the greatest and most influential punk bands to come out of anywhere, ever. I came across a trailer for a documentary being made about the band that looks really cool:

The band released their first two singles on Bomp! Records in 1977 and 1978 (a reissue on that legendary label just hit their store), after which the original lineup first ceased to exist. I admit I didn’t know much about the years that followed. As I dug into it further, I found that there have been two incarnations of the band. The Zeros, with Javier Escovedo the primary songwriter and owner of the catalog, with, until recently, Baba Chenelle; and The Zeros ’77 with Hector Penalosa and Robert Lopez. The latter is an occasional project that those two founding members formed to ensure a claim to their part of The Zeros’ history.

This bifurcation got me thinking of all the bands with changing lineups that have continued under the banner that has made them famous, and I’m trying to find the logic in it. How many original members have to leave before it ceases to be the band?

Paula Pierce, founding member of the Pandoras, passed away in 1991. Currently, there are two versions of The Pandoras touring (clearly, neither with Paula). The Kennedys and The Boys, both of the Dead variety, are doing shows without their singular frontmen — Jello Biafra due to long-standing legal and creative issues, and Stiv Bators due to being dead for over 35 years.

Consider the Sex Pistols. In 1977, they started a worldwide riot with their debut album after replacing their original bassist, Glen Matlock, with Sid Vicious. They were still the Sex Pistols. These days they have a new singer and Glen Matlock is back — and honestly, they’re playing more vitally than they have in years. So who are they? The marquee says “The Sex Pistols”. John Lydon calls it karaoke.

Journey sells out arenas without the lead singer who made them famous, Steve Perry. He, himself, took over lead vocals from the original lead singer, Greg Rolie. In fact, Arnel Pineda has been in the band aping Steve Perry just as long as Steve Perry was ever in the band non-aping.

And then there are Foreigner and Lynyrd Skynyrd, each of whom is still touring with literally NO original members. Honestly, maybe no one will notice.

And what do we do with The Beatles? For the moment, let’s forget about the parade of temporary drummers they had before settling on Pete Best. When they changed their name from The Silver Beatles, Pete was still on the skins, and Stu Sutcliffe played bass (well, sort of). Does anyone look at the Fab Four and say, “Well, they aren’t the original Beatles.”

How about the Rolling Stones? Only Mick and Keith remain — 40% of the original lineup responsible for our grandmothers locking up our mothers. So, when Ringo and George recorded It Don’t Come Easy in 1971 — that’s 50% of the Fabs — why isn’t that considered a Beatles’ song? Oh, it has to be one of the main songwriters? Paul and Ringo have a song together on Macca’s latest…is that a Beatles song?

So it’s a weighted percentage! Mick and Keith > Paul and Ringo. Natch.

As we get older, the bands we love get older, too. People retire, die. But with the advent of streaming and reduced royalties from traditional sources, some artists have to keep touring. Being a musician doesn’t come with a health plan or a retirement plan. But it’s not just that. If you’re a band that floated on the margins, what happens when your last contemporaneous fan heads off to the great gig in the sky? (God, don’t get me started on the whole Pink Floyd saga.) How do you not disappear along with them?

And what if you’re just not done yet? Strange as it may seem, most musicians love to play music. I’d like to think that’s why many get into this thankless profession to begin with. They’ve built a following and want to keep playing those songs they bled themselves into. Should they be held hostage by the one member of the band who would rather spend their remaining years raising alpacas somewhere along the Palouse?

I, for one, am looking forward to the Zeros documentary, the Bomp! reissue, and anything that gives these guys the recognition they deserve, regardless of who is out there calling themselves the Zeros. And really, who am I to judge? I was never very good at math.