The Ventures.......or not

[Dennisthe Menace]

Does Bob Spalding have a son that plays with The Ventures now? I think Bob Spalding is good but I don't think he fits. When Bob Bogle called it quits because of illness they should have considered something else if not retirement then as the group The Ventures

ZacJM, read the very first post initiated by Dubtrub (Danny).....

[Edward Lopez]

That's a toughy. When a band has a unique sound and then loses members what should they do? When bands lose their lead singer whose voice was so recognizable should they get a replacement, a copy cat voice, or ???? I'm thinking of bands like Journey, ACDC, INXS, Black Sabbath, etc. When a voice is so distinctive that you identify the band by the voice what do you do when you lose that voice? Or, in the case of The Who, Roger Daltry of today can get no where near his voice of 30 years ago, should they hang it up? I don't have a good answer but it is certainly something to ponder.

"When a band has a unique sound..." applies to only one band and that was the Beatles. No matter how hard they try, no one has been able to get their "Beatles" sound to the point where if you hear them blind you can't tell. But The Ventures didn't have a unique sound thanks to the fact that they were instrumental only and the one thing that they are responsible for is the thousands of sound-alike bands, especially those using Mosrites. Where the "sound-alikes" are weak is in the drums department with the exception of Los Straitjackets. Mel Taylor had chops and no matter how good the modern drummers are, including his son who is sort-of insipid, they do not have the sound Mel created. Guitars and basses can sound alike so the their playing is the factor.

In the case of an instrumental band such as the modern "The Ventures" as long as the group has an original member and that member has the right to the name, it's a go.

By the way, out of left field, has Semie Mosrite been honored by that less than honorable R'N'R HOF?

[stl80]

When I see a 60's band, I feel lucky if there's more than a friend of one of the members playing plus 1 original roadie.
Jim

[connie_mack]

"When a band has a unique sound..." applies to only one band and that was the Beatles.

i dunno. i think the ventures have a big fat sound that nobody was able to recreate. including themselves after a certain point. as much as i love other instro bands and dick dale, i think the ventures might be the instro equivalent of the beatles. or the beatles might be the vocal equivalent of the ventures......

or the beatles might be the rock and roll equivalent of buck owens....

or buck owens might be the country equivalent of the ventures....

or......

[Speed Fret]

The first time I saw The Ventures was in 1970, and because Jerry was playing lead, I felt robbed. I paid to see Nokie. The music was there, but something was missing. Course, back then, there was no Internet or YouTube. The only information available at the time came from the liner notes. I had joined their Fan Club, but do not recall receiving any info on Nokie leaving. I saw Don and Nokie playing last year in Puyallup, with Nokie's nephew on Bass. Again, the music was magic, but without the original lineup, the package wasn't complete. How about revamping the name to "The Ventures II". The II could also stand for Don & Nokie

[jtr654]

Player come and go and if you've been with the band longer than the original guy why don't you have rights to use the name? Don has the rights, Mels son probably , Jerry & Nokie definately Should also.

[zarfnober]

Saw them 2 years ago with Don and Nokie. Leon and I think Bob Spalding. The ysounded great, but moved slowly! They own the name and can do whatever they darn well please with it, and they still sound good. imo.

Rocco

[dubtrub]

I recently seen a video of the Ventures and the only Venture was Don Wilson. Bob Spalding on lead, his son on bass, Leon on drums and Don on rhythm. Some how that just doesn't equate to being the Ventures to me. It seems more like a cover band with one of the original Ventures as a guest star.

I'll refer back to my original post. I'm not talking about Don and Nokie not being the Ventures, I'm talking about Bob Spalding, his son, Leon and Don. With this new lineup the only true Venture is Don and his health is failing. When Don leaves and when he is replaced, to me, they will no longer be the Ventures.

[Veenture]

Danny's right. To me, the more 'drainage' of original members from the band takes place, the thinner the mix gets until the 'Ventures vibe' is almost lost completely, no matter how good and dedicated replacement musicians may be. This especially applies to live performances in my opinion. (as an aside, aren't these guys just unstoppable?! ...amazing at their age! )
I like all Ventures drummers from George Babbitt, Skip Moore, Howie Johnson to Mel Taylor, Joe Barile, (the great Batman album!) even guest drummers such as Sandy Nelson (!) and Bruce Gary and others and last but certainly not least, excellent drummer Leon Taylor who is not his dad's clone perhaps but very pleasing nonetheless
Having said that, Mel Taylor is at the very top of my list of favorite drummers; I even sometimes think that it was he who had attracted me to the Ventures in the first place (naw, it was the combined talents of the original/early members).
Back in 1969 Gerry McGee had to grow on me, and now I swoon every time I hear him play his unigue scorching Gerry McGee licks (One of my favorite recordings with him playing awesome lead: "Mission Impossible").

Let us also consider the multitude of guest- (studio) musicians as well who have made great contributions to the "sound of the Ventures" also.

But any band of musicians can sound terrific when individual outstanding talents combine ...and click! ...a rare occurrence, so in that sence, what's in a name? Bottom line, "The Ventures" flag should be taken down if the flag no longer covers the ship's load (i.e. all original and long-time members gone)

[rog43win]

It is sad when a band loses members, it's impossible to reproduce the original sound. The personality and dynamics change.
I agree with Danny that if Don retires, any existing players who want to continue should probably change the name.
My favorite Ventures era would be the mid 60's, but the first few songs from 1960 with Bob playing lead had a unique sound as well....."Walk Don't Run" and "Perfidia" and "Blue Moon" ...just to name a few.....I have never , ever heard anyone duplicate that sound....not ever. As simple as those songs are to play, I've never heard the sound duplicated. Yes, we can get the notes right, but the overall sound was unique. Even Nokie playing the bass on those early songs was unmatchable too....I liked his bass playing better than Bob's, because it was more bassey....Bob, being a lead player also, played the bass more like a lead guitar......just my opinion..
Legally do they have the right to carry on after Don quits? I don't know, but it only seems right to change the name....nothing wrong with the remaining players continuing, but let's face it, a name is a name only, but the music defines the name. I'd love to see Bob Spalding, Leon, and whoever else plays continue if that is what they want to do, but change the name of the band.
The Ventures achieved a level of musicianship and genius that is monumental.....It is still my music of choice when I want to hear music...long live the Ventures!