‘Bowzer’ to back state bill protecting bands

AUGUSTA – A former member of the music group Sha Na Na will testify next week in support of a bill to ban musical groups from performing under the premise that they are the original members of the band they are impersonating.

Jon “Bowzer” Bauman of the popular 1970s rock ‘n’ roll revival band will testify Tuesday before the Legislature’s Business, Research and Economic Development Committee in support of the bill, “An Act To Ensure Truth in Music Advertising.”

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Elaine Makas, D-Lewiston, would prohibit musical groups from advertising or performing under false or misleading representation of other musical groups. Makas said she became interested in the issue after reading about it last summer.

Bauman has promoted similar versions of the bill in at least 20 states, and it has become law in nine of those states. Bauman is chairman of the Truth in Music Committee, formed in 2003 by the Pennsylvania-based Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation.

“This is not to stop cover bands. There’s nothing wrong with cover bands or tribute bands,” Bauman said in a telephone interview Friday. “This is to stop identity theft.”

The bill was created to protect consumers who purchase tickets to see bands that claim to be the original recording artists but in fact are not. The bill also aims to save artists from having to file numerous, costly lawsuits against their impostors, Bauman said.

“Artists themselves would have to stop this on the trademark level, and they simply can’t afford to,” Bauman said. “You’d have to have an attorney in every state going after every concert, and by the time you get to it, the consumer’s already been ripped off. Truth in Music [the bill] allows the Attorney General’s Office to go in and stop the show before it starts.”

Bauman said impostors of Sha Na Na haven’t been a problem, but he has seen them become a problem for other bands. When asked how many impostor bands exist in the U.S., Bauman said, “as many as there needs to be on any given day. You’ve got people pretending to be the Coasters one night, the Platters another night and the Drifters another night. There’s no shame in this endeavor.”

Makas and Bauman say musical groups touting themselves as “the original band” should contain at least one original member of the band.

Testimony will begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, in Room 208 of the Cross Building.