Tabitha's Secret's lawsuit against matchbox 20...
matchbox 20 Sued By Former Bandmates
December 12 [17:00 EDT] -- Three members of matchbox 20 are being sued
by some former bandmates who claim that matchbox 20 has recorded one of
their old songs.
As previously reported by our colleagues in MTV Local, singer Rob
Thomas, drummer Paul Doucette and bassist Brian Yale were members of
another band in Orlando, Florida called Tabitha's Secret prior to
forming matchbox 20. Two members of that group, guitarist Jay Stanley
and bassist John Goff, have filed a suit against matchbox 20's members,
singer Rob Thomas, drummer Paul Doucette and bassist Brian Yale, along
with producer Matt Serletic and attorney David Mantel.
The lawsuit alleges that Serletic approached Tabitha's Secret about a
long term agreement and producing a demo tape which included the track,
"3AM," (a song that now appears on matchbox 20's album, "Yourself Or
Someone Like You"). Mantel was then going to represent the band to
Atlantic Records. According to the suit, it didn't really happen that
way.
Stanley and Goff claim that when they had reservations about entering
into a longterm agreement with Serletic, Thomas, Doucette, and Yale left
the group and reemerged as Matchbox 20. But before they departed, Thomas
allegedly fired the band's manager and booking agent, canceled the rest
of their then-current tour, and announced that the band was breaking up,
claiming that the deal with Atlantic was solely for him and that he
could bring Yale and Doucette with him.
Most likely this complex suit will be sorted out in court some time next
year.
Meanwhile, Tabitha's Secret still exists and plans to release a CD
called "Don't Play With Matches."
MATCHBOX 20 members named in lawsuit
Controversy has once again found MATCHBOX 20. The band, originally from
Orlando and known for their multi-platnum album Yourself or Someone Like
You, has been named in a lawsuit brought by members of the band
TABITHA'S SECRET.
Some of you may remember TABITHA'S SECRET; a few years ago they looked
to have a bright future. They were one of the most popular bands playing
around Orlando and were gaining the attention of major record labels. It
was expected that a major recording contract was coming soon.
Then, all of a sudden, they disappeared, and Rob Thomas, the lead singer
of the band, along with Paul Doucette and Brian Yale, reemerged as
MATCHBOX 20, without guitarist Jay Stanley and bassist John Goff. Now,
as Forbidden Records is set to release the TABITHA'S SECRET CD Don't
Play With Matches, a lawsuit has been filed by Stanley and Goff against
the members of MATCHBOX 20, along with their producer Matt Serletic and
attorney David Mantel.
The charges stem from the alleged actions of Thomas, Serletic and Mantel
in 1995, when TABITHA'S SECRET was involved in discussions with Atlantic
Records and Hollywood Records. Around May 5, 1995, Matt Serletic
contacted the members of TABITHA'S SECRET and showed interest in
producing the master recordings for four demo tracks: "3 AM," "Tired,"
"Forever December" and "Swing."
Serletic proposed that he wanted to enter into a long-term contract with
the band, where he would form his own production company to control the
services of the band per their partnership agreement. At the time,
Stanley and Goff were wary of entering into such an agreement and
favored only letting Serletic produce the master copies of the demos.
The demos were made later that month and produced by Serletic, although
the band/partnership financed the expense themselves.
Before the completion of the master recordings, the band met with
Serletic and his attorney David Mantel at the Law offices of Katz, Smith
and Cohen. Mantel presented a plan to represent the band in its
solicitation of recording contracts. The suit states that he claimed
there would be no conflict of interest in representing Serletic and the
band as a partnership, as well as each member of the band individually,
because "they were all after the same goal." The band accepted the terms
set out by Mantel and allowed him to represent the band to Atlantic
Records.
In June of 1995, TABITHA'S SECRET played a show in Tallahassee, Florida,
attended by representatives from Atlantic with Mantel acting as their
representative. It was shortly after this show that Thomas confronted
the band, telling them that Serletic and Mantel told him that the
Atlantic deal was offered to him alone, and he could include Doucette
and Yale at his discretion, but not Stanley or Goff. This announcement
was made even though Kim Stephens, an executive from Atlantic, had
called Kevin O'Malley, then the band's manager, reportedly telling him
"I want this band on Atlantic," not mentioning a deal specifically with
Thomas alone but, rather, showed enthusiasm in the band as a whole.
Thomas allegedly told the other members he would pursue the contract
with Atlantic if Hollywood Records didn't give a better offer.
Throughout this time, Stanley and Goff claim that they had been
intentionally excluded from "secret meetings" between Serletic and
Mantel and the other members of the band/partnership, due to their
unwillingness to enter into Serletic's long term plan. In these
meetings, it is alleged that they discussed ways of dealing with the
band's partnership obligations if Stanley and Goff were excluded from
the band.
Once again, shortly after these alleged meetings, Thomas announced that
Serletic and Mantel had told him that the Atlantic deal was meant
specifically for him and that Stanley and Goff were excluded. At this
time, Thomas said that the band was breaking up. He fired their manager
and their booking agent and cancelled the rest of their then-current
tour, including a record label showcase in New York City.
In July, Atlantic Records entered into a deal with Melisma Productions,
the production company that Serletic had formed for the long-term
relationship with the band he had sought from the beginning, whereby
Melisma Productions would produce the masters to Atlantic for
distribution under the name MATCHBOX 20. Allegedly, MATCHBOX 20 entered
into an exclusive agreement with Melisma productions in November, 1995,
but the agreement was backdated to September 20, 1995.
All of this comes as Stanley and Goff are releasing the TABITHA'S SECRET
CD "Don't Play With Matches" that features "3AM" along with other songs
produced under the partnership agreement by the band as whole. The ugly
side of the music industry has been exposed here, since it seems in this
case everyone is clamoring for bucks. If the alleged shady dealings did
indeed occur, it seems like Serletic and Mantel ran the end around on
Stanley and Goff in order to secure the long-term exclusive production
agreement with the other members of the band.
With the impending release of Don't Play With Matches, the public can
decide whether it was Serletic and Mantel's desire for a long term
contract or a lack of talent on the part of Stanley and Goff that finds
them all in court.
-- Jeff Ostlie
MTV College Stringer
December 3, 1997
From MTV
