It's petty, uninformed, speculation when people go down this road...and it is fairly unimportant in the grand scheme of things anyway.
What is the grand scheme of things, anyway? Bands like Journey and Styx who continue on without their most recognizable and, arguably, most important member but still portray themselves as the real deal so that they can wring whatever nickels they can out of the public and their fans. These bands (like Styx) on the one hand want to distance themselves from their former lead singers and on the other hand want to perpetuate the illusion to the public that they're the same band they were 30 years ago when the lead singer (and in many instances, main writer) was still there. It's all such a crock. Listen, if Styx (Tommy and JY) thought they could triple their income, on a regular basis and still keep control over the band, by letting Dennis back in the band, they'd do it quicker than you could say "the party's over." But, as the years have passed and the crowds have gotten smaller, so too have their pieces of the pie. Dennis never gets back in because that would mean TS and JY would have to carve up what little money is left from this already dead horse.
I think Dennis would have been absolutely foolish when the lawsuit was 'settled' to allow the band to continue using his name or image in any promotion of the band whatsoever.
Why is that? Dennis, I'm sure still makes a sizable bit of money from the sale of old Styx albums and his song publishing. Some amount of money from every Styx CD that includes any of his stuff goes into his pocket. He lets them sing his stuff but not use him in the band's bio? Makes no sense to me. Maybe, though, DDY is that bitchy. Who knows? I think a lot of the bad blood in this band has to do with Dennis reclaiming of all his publishing from the other guys before the "Edge of the Century" debacle.
As to Journey, I'd say the same damn thing. See, the thing about all these bands is that it comes down to the money. Period. At this point, they're earning a paycheck. In their private moments do you think TS or JY really think that anything they're doing now compares to the glory years? They'd be delusional to think so. Hey, I have no problem with bands earning a paycheck. Have fun, play the old tunes for a happy crowd. But, ya know, do they have to be so uptight about things. Truth be told, if you asked 100 people under the age of 35 who "Styx" is or was, 80 percent wouldn't know who you were talking about. Sorry, man, same thing for Journey. That band's biggest push in the last few years was being the song the Sopranos ended with.
It's not petty to talk about this stuff. I think it's interesting. Really, how many times can you talk about how great a song "Crystal Ball" is? Even if it is petty, it's no more petty than the band members are about the whole thing.
It is a well known fact that Steve Perry did the same to Journey. Even fan pics were censored and had to be approved before posting, at least partially because of this. So, don't tell me this is unimaginable - cuz zi know it has happened with other bands who did not end up in court during the split. Funny, the fans accused Journey of the EXACT SAME THING years ago. So, whatever.
Then Steve Perry is probably as big an ass as I could imagine. Really, is that what these guys have left to fight over, a picture of Steve Perry in some disgusting 80s costume appearing on the Journey website? I guess I could see, in some instances, where putting a picture of the guy on the site (when he's no longer a member) could cause a problem because it would give the impression that he's still with the band. Sticking his name and ALL of his contributions to the band in the bio, then saying he left the band in 19 whatever, well, sorry, I don't get it and don't see how it could be a problem.
Many years ago, I worked at a record store in Youngstown, Ohio. Every month or so, a former guitarist of the Michael Stanley Band used to come into the store and count the number of MSB records in the racks. He would ask for our sales numbers of the older MSB records. Now, this was years after the guy left (or was tossed out of) the band. It was also a couple years after MSB had all but ceased to exist and/or be popular. We sold maybe 3 albums a month. At the time, a lot of MSB's stuff was falling out of print. The stuff that we sold that would involve money for this guitarist were like the bargain/cheapo "Best Of" cassettes that sold for $3.99 or 4.99. At the time, I thought what could this guy be doing. What could he be making from these old albums. He had no (or few) songwriting credits. So, I asked him why he wanted to know the sales figures. He told me an answer and, without getting into his answer, it just showed me how petty the guy was.
Maybe, the pettiness is all these aging rockers have left. Their most creative days, popularity and records sales are long behind them. Maybe, all they have to hang on to is the petty bullshit.
Is it 2015 yet with those fancy Back to the Future sneakers with real self-closing lacing (not the limited edition ones on eBay they're hawking)? Wake me up then. I bet this discussion will still be going on.
You're probably right and I'm sure Styx still won't have DDY back then and they'll still be playing a small venue near (name the town) and playing the Grand Illusion, Fooling Yourself and [name the other 70s hit].
I insist that life is about more than money. These guys won the lottery, basically. They became one of that small percentage of acts that had massive success. They could have protected their music legacy and still made a buck if they could have just found a way to get past all the nonsense. It's too bad because they were a hell of a band.