Peter Wolf is currently busy with solo tour dates, including four New England shows this month. But he says the J. Geils Band is also going to tour starting in 2013, continuing without former founding member and namesake J. Geils.

Geils’ recent lawsuit claims he owns the rights to the name J. Geils Band and the band is violating his copyright by touring without him. Wolf says the legal issues are just one way a band like theirs faces trouble over time. It’s hard to avoid when the same group of guys play together for almost five decades.

Wolf tells Billboard that “any classic band that has gone through the ages goes through twists and turns like this. The Eagles, they’ve gone through personnel changes. The [Rolling] Stones have gone through different guitar players. Van Halen, the Allman Brothers…Some last, some don’t. It’s really about how they solve these situations and, more importantly, how they come out of it musically.

“Unfortunately what happened in the Geils situation was that J. kind of broke the brotherhood. That made it sort of difficult to continue (with him).”

Peter Wolf Talks ‘Deceptive’ J. Geils Band Lawsuit With Chuck Nowlin

He has a point about the aforementioned bands and their multiple lineup changes. But it’s still rare when bands sue each other over the name.

So it sounds like the band will never reconcile or reunite in any way. Even if Geils wins the lawsuit, he can’t stop Wolf and the rest of the band from continuing to tour and play the same hit songs under a different name.

Wolf will play more shows in October under his own name, but will probably mix in some Geils classics along the way. He goes to Brownfield and Rockland in Maine before playing Halloween in Fall River, Mass.

Peter Wolf 2012 Tour Dates

10-25-2012: Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain Arts Center (Tickets)
10-26-2012: Rockland, ME – Strand Theatre (Tickets)
10-31-2012: Fall River, MA – Narrows Center for the Arts (Tickets)

• You Review It: J. Geils Band at the Mohegan Sun Arena
• You Review It: J. Geils Band at the House of Blues in Boston
• J. Geils Sues J. Geils Band Over Rights to Name