Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder felt forced to take Josh Homme’s side in the band’s current legal battle after concluding John Garcia and Brant Bjork had stabbed him in the back.
The two parties are embroiled in court action after Homme and Reeder blocked the founding members’ attempts to trademark the band’s name.
And papers published by the Los Angeles legal department reveal Homme became concerned after Garcia’s “one-off” use of the title turned into a growing project.
Bjork recently called Homme’s lawsuit a “double standard,” claiming the former frontman wanted control of the Kyuss Lives band even though he’d refused an invitation to be part of it. The drummer said: “Josh and Scott want control and money, but they don’t want us to exist.”
Now an email written by Reeder and released to the court contains an explanation as to why the bassist supported Homme’s action, aiming to block a trademark application.
Reeder wrote to Garcia and Bjork: “I’m at a loss for how we can resolve anything in good faith when on one day John is telling Josh that we need to proceed to a mediation meeting, and the next day Brant is recommending that I flip-flop on Josh and join the band.
“Josh is being vilified for, as Brant puts it, ‘inflicting punishment’ on you guys, but poor decisions on your part is what got us to this point. There was no choice but for us to react quickly to stop the trademark claims.”
But the bassist wonders if his former colleagues are fully aware of what their representatives were doing, writing that lawyers were “obviously hoping the deadline would pass without anyone on this side noticing.” He adds: “Some seriously underhand manoeuvring went on that you guys are apparently unaware of.”
He continues: “I’ve been stabbed in the back by you guys and your management, and yet the finger gets pointed at Josh for being the bad guy. It’s not right. He’s been nothing but forthcoming with me and with you guys.
“A plan was laid out that would have benefitted all, but you and your people all took a big fat shit on it.
“It’s laughable when Brant tells me the partnership agreement expired after ten years. When the publishing splits were questioned a few years ago, you agreed the partnership agreement would hold up in perpetuity. You can’t have it both ways, my friend.”
An earlier email exchange shows how Garcia’s initial proposal to his Kyuss partners began as a request to be allowed to use the band name to promote a single project, that everyone was in agreement and that it led to a discussion about a potential reunion. However, no messages written by Homme have been released.
The lawsuit alleges “an expanding merchandising campaign and plans to record and release new material under the misleading name ‘Kyuss Lives’ with incalculable harm to the Kyuss name, legacy and the market for the partnership’s works. The defendants have also filed several trademark applications for both Kyuss Lives and Kyuss in a clandestine effort to purloin the Kyuss name from its rightful owner, the Kyuss Partnership.”
-Classic Rock Magazine
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