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Kennedy Center Changes

TheBigA said:
The "Jefferson" part of the band was tied mainly to Paul Kantner. Starship started in 1985 with Mickey Thomas.
Click to expand...
So, is this current Jefferson Starship the subject of a lawsuit. I thought they were illegally using the name?

They have upcoming tour dates:

www.eventticketscenter.com

Jefferson Starship Temecula

Jefferson Starship Temecula tickets & schedule. View all Jefferson Starship tour dates. Secure seat to Jefferson Starship concerts.
www.eventticketscenter.com www.eventticketscenter.com
 
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KilowattKat said:
So, is this current Jefferson Starship the subject of a lawsuit. I thought they were illegally using the name?
Click to expand...

The lawsuit was filed in 2017, and settled. David Freiberg was an original member of Jefferson Starship, and is the only original member now.

It's not uncommon for these things to happen. For a period, there were two touring bands that called themselves The Beach Boys. One had Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, the other was Brian Wilson and Al Jardine. They later reconciled. I think there was a similar situation with The Four Seasons.
 
TheBigA said:
The "Jefferson" part of the band was tied mainly to Paul Kantner. Starship started in 1985 with Mickey Thomas.
Click to expand...

Not true. Jefferson Airplane became Jefferson Starship at the behest of Paul Kantner with the "Blows Against the Empire," album of 1973. Micky Thomas joined the group in 1979 (replacing original male lead singer Marty Balin) and was first heard doing lead vocals on the 1979 album "Freedom at Point Zero," and its hit single, "Jane," (which peaked at #14 in January of 1980). The "Jefferson" was dropped from the name Jefferson Starship in 1985 with the release of the single "We Built This City," which was, if I remember correctly, when the late Paul Kantner left the band and started a competing band with former Jefferson Airplane/Starship members Marty Balin and Jack Cassidy. (It was called the KBC band, referring to the first letters of each of the members' last names.) However, by the time the "Jefferson" was taken off of the band's name, Micky Thomas had been contributing lead vocals for five years.
 
TheBigA said:
The politician who now runs the Kennedy Center says he will "seek $1 million in damages" from the musician who canceled his Christmas eve concert:

www.nbcnews.com

Kennedy Center threatens to sue musician who canceled concert after Trump's name added to building

Richard Grenell, the venue's president, called Chuck Redd's decision to cancel a Christmas Eve concert a “political stunt” and said he would sue for $1 million in damages.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com

Not sure how he came up with the $1 million figure.
Click to expand...
When this surfaced on my FB feed, there were a lot of people saying he was within his right, as the original cotract was with the Kennedy Center, not the renamed center. I don't think it would stand up in court.
 
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TheBigA said:
The lawsuit was filed in 2017, and settled. David Freiberg was an original member of Jefferson Starship, and is the only original member now.

It's not uncommon for these things to happen. For a period, there were two touring bands that called themselves The Beach Boys. One had Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, the other was Brian Wilson and Al Jardine. They later reconciled. I think there was a similar situation with The Four Seasons.
Click to expand...
The Temptations went through the same thing in the 1990s. While the group with the original Motown lineage was still performing and recording, former members David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, and Dennis Edwards toured together as "The Lead Singers of the Temptations" or something to that effect.

Otis Williams, the co-founder of the group and co-owner of the Temptations' name and IP, sued his former band mates. It took several years before the litigation was settled; Ruffin and Kendricks both died in the interim. Edwards was allowed to keep using the Temptations name and his splinter group was re-christened as "The Temptations Review featuring Dennis Edwards." Edwards passed in 2018, and his group continues today with a slightly modified name. At times it has featured a few other former Temptations, but none sing with the group presently.

As for the OG group, 84-year-old Otis Williams continues to tour and perform as the last surviving original Temptation. They often share bookings with the present incarnation of the Four Tops, whose original members are all deceased.
 
www.nbcnews.com

More musicians cancel Kennedy Center concerts after board votes to add Trump's name to the building

Recent cancellations have left the performing arts center in Washington with gaps in programming for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com


I first heard this story on NPR's newscast which stated that the Trump-appointed director said that the center was getting requests from other artists who wanted to perform there. I think, that after all is said and done, Mr. Trump is going to leave the center just about white.
 
www.dailykos.com

Trump crony has embarrassing meltdown after more Kennedy Center performers quit

The Trump administration is lashing out at performers who have chosen to cancel performances at the Kennedy Center following Donald Trump’s recent decision to deface the cultural institution with ...
www.dailykos.com


Note that this story includes information about a comedian who has gotten the website urls for kennedycenter.com and kennedycenter.org. I think it may be time to start passing the popcorn...
 
One of the main tenants of the Kennedy Center, the Washington National Opera, is moving out. They say they made the decision because the center wants payments in advance.

ew.com

Washington National Opera leaving Kennedy Center after more than 5 decades following Trump takeover

The Washington National Opera, which has performed out of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since 1971, is leaving the historic venue.
ew.com ew.com

The Opera House was obviously built for such a thing. The other main tenant is the National Symphony, and they use the Concert Hall. It's likely that the opera will move to Constitution Hall, located about a mile away.
 
TheBigA said:
One of the main tenants of the Kennedy Center, the Washington National Opera, is moving out. They say they made the decision because the center wants payments in advance.

ew.com

Washington National Opera leaving Kennedy Center after more than 5 decades following Trump takeover

The Washington National Opera, which has performed out of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts since 1971, is leaving the historic venue.
ew.com ew.com

The Opera House was obviously built for such a thing. The other main tenant is the National Symphony, and they use the Concert Hall. It's likely that the opera will move to Constitution Hall, located about a mile away.
Click to expand...
Speaking of opera ... :(

abc7ny.com

Metropolitan Opera House announces layoffs, salary cuts amid financial woes: report

According to the New York Times, 22 members of the administration staff will be let go, there will be salary cuts for executives and the glamorous 3,800-seat theatre will be rented to pop artists when there's no opera that night.
abc7ny.com abc7ny.com
 
The president just announced that the Kennedy Center will be closed for two years for "renovations."

www.foxnews.com

Trump announces two-year closure of Trump Kennedy Center for major renovations

President Donald Trump said the Trump Kennedy Center will close on July 4, 2026, in order to carry out a two-year renovation project, promising a grand reopening.
www.foxnews.com www.foxnews.com

www.cbsnews.com

Kennedy Center to close for construction for 2 years, Trump says

Complete closure of the performing arts center in Washington, D.C., will start on July 4, Mr. Trump said. It's not yet clear how extensive the changes to the building might be.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

They might as well, since very little happens there anymore.

He didn't say what will happen to the Kennedy Center Honors in December. The TV rights held by CBS have expired.
 
nomadcowatbk said:
so no Trump-Kennedy Center honors until 2028?
Click to expand...
Since the TV deal with CBS ended with the last event, there's no reason to hold it until then, unless the "board" (in other words, Donald Trump) wants to hold on the White House grounds featuring MAGA-friendly performers and slap the Trump Kennedy Honors (or just Trump Honors) brand on it. But would such an event be capable of attracting anyone other than Kid Rock and the C-list country singers that Turning Point has signed up for its "non-woke" Super Bowl halftime show?
 


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