Autograph - Beyond

[gdazer]

As there are no original members remaining, Steve Lynch may put this band name into retirement. That's the word. 

[Captain Howdy]

10 hours ago, gdazer said:

As there are no original members remaining, Steve Lynch may put this band name into retirement. That's the word. 

Well why did Lynch say different?

A fan commented that Lynch should bring back his real version of the band, with the guitarist replying: “It’s on the table. Thank you.”

[gdazer]

25 minutes ago, Captain Howdy said:

Well why did Lynch say different?

A fan commented that Lynch should bring back his real version of the band, with the guitarist replying: “It’s on the table. Thank you.”

Only 2 members out of 5 left 3 have passed on. What's the point? He is currently embroiled in legal action over the Autograph trademark with 2 current members 

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/steve-lynch-autograph-lawsuit/

[Captain Howdy]

On 12/9/2022 at 11:31 AM, gdazer said:

Only 2 members out of 5 left 3 have passed on. What's the point? He is currently embroiled in legal action over the Autograph trademark with 2 current members 

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/steve-lynch-autograph-lawsuit/

I know all this seeing as I posted the initial story about Lynch, what I am saying is you said "That's the word" when it isn't. "The word" is that Lynch has said a return of the "real" Autograph is on the table.

The point that only two originals are alive is neither here nor there, all I am stating is what Lynch has said.

[Metal T]

Completely retiring the band name would probably be the best course of action.It would solve the problem of possibly having 2 bands out touring as 'Autograph' which would be a joke.That is what Quiet Riot should have done after Kevin died and some of the others.I'd like to hear what Steve Plunkett has to say about all of this or if he even cares which he may not he's made a mint over the years doing tv music i doubt he misses the Rock n'  Roll lifestyle.

[gdazer]

6 hours ago, Captain Howdy said:

I know all this seeing as I posted the initial story about Lynch, what I am saying is you said "That's the word" when it isn't. "The word" is that Lynch has said a return of the "real" Autograph is on the table.

The point that only two originals are alive is neither here nor there, all I am stating is what Lynch has said.

The word is.. the legal ramifications in the link I attached. You obviously didn't bother to read it. 

[Captain Howdy]

On 12/10/2022 at 6:27 PM, gdazer said:

The word is.. the legal ramifications in the link I attached. You obviously didn't bother to read it. 

And you obviously didn't bother reading my link where he says that a return of the "real" Autograph is on the table. So please explain to me why what he said in your link is more valid than what he said in mine. Word is that this is a fucking mess and Lynch does not know what he wants.

No need to be a cunt about it with your five posts.

[Captain Howdy]

And on and on it goes.

New statement from Simon Daniels on FB:

Statement from Me and Marc Wieland of Autograph:

We’ve seen the recent postings by Steve Lynch about the dispute over the Autograph name. We have to respond to let our fans know what is going on. As we all know, our friend and original Autograph bassist Randy Rand passed away last year while we were working on our last album, “Beyond.” Randy was a brother. We lost a band member and a friend. Much of that is personal, and we have dealt with it personally. But the album is partially business, and he wanted this album out. His widow Regina assured us many times that he did too, and that it should come out.

We want to make this very clear: Steve Lynch started legal action against Regina and us days after Randy passed away, bottom line.

Steve Lynch left the band three years ago and gave us his blessing. He knew about “Beyond.” So we were completely surprised when -- after we brought a very limited lawsuit to figure out if (after nine years of being full band members) we use the name for live performances -- we were personally sued by Lynch for putting out Beyond. He has sued us, our record label and the company that we jointly owned with Randy for “use of the AUTOGRAPH Mark and the Logos to promote recordings, performances and merchandise.”

This was a complete shock, and now the law requires us to join everyone who could be responsible for the behavior Lynch complains of. Sadly, that includes Randy’s widow because she told us to put out the record. She signed papers on behalf of Autograph Band1, LLC, which was Randy’s company and a company that Lynch is now suing. We, as individuals in this group and part of this company, are not going to bear the risk for putting out a record that everyone agreed should come out.

When we were first threatened by Lynch in June, Randy’s widow had our back. She wrote things like “Randy want[ed] this album out more than anything – I promise to do whatever you need me to do to help with this!!!!” “Yea well the album better come out because Randy is on it – and they can’t stop you from [playing] now!” On another text, she wrote “Oh god help – autograph is not done!!!! No!!!! Me and you can come up with a plan to take care of Steve.”

But after the album came out, she started writing to promoters and telling them not to let us play this music. We’ve been full members of this band for nine years. We were partners in two companies with Randy, they recorded at our studio, they used our songs. We believe we have a right to play that music.

Maybe the courts will decide differently, but that is why we went to court – ONLY to figure out if we could play Autograph music live. In response to this narrow problem, Lynch pulled out a bazooka and sued our record company, our booking agent and our company with Randy for putting out the last Autograph record. So ya, we are going to protect ourselves, and we are required to bring in everyone needed to settle this. One of those people is Randy’s widow, who encouraged us to come out with the record, and who signed papers and ok’d money from the company to pay for the record AND the video that we made to honor Randy. We aren’t happy about it. We’ve named her in the last complaint, but we haven’t served her with the case, gotten a subpoena for her or contacted her at all.

However, we are NOT going to be painted as villains by Lynch, who left the band three years ago and gave his blessing to carry on.

 

The thing here is the name of a band isn't just something you get to call yours just because you joined a band X years ago.

Unless Daniels & Wieland own the band name legally, then the name is not theirs. The only way they can claim any right to it is if the surviving members and their estates never trademarked it.

I don't like the fact he paints Lynch as a villain for going after Rands widdow, but then says after she changed her mind the band is now going after her. Double standards there.

Just change the fucking name of the band. Simple.

Sign in please would be an obvious name for the tribute band that they are.

[CureTheSane]

The weirdest thing about all this is that seemingly there is a value placed on the brand "Autograph" 

Would be easier just to rebrand "manualgraph" 😀

[Captain Howdy]

9 hours ago, CureTheSane said:

The weirdest thing about all this is that seemingly there is a value placed on the brand "Autograph" 

Would be easier just to rebrand "manualgraph" 😀

I think the way they see it is if they go out under a different name, 50 people might show up to their gig.

If they go out as Autograph, 52 might show up.

 

Serious answer is, the band name Autograph has more value than any of the members.

People might remember they had that one song that was really popular because it featured in Grand Theft Auto Vice City, but who the hell has heard of any of the current members? Simon is probably the highest profile name in the band, but Jailhouse is hardly a band even people from the scene had heard of. It is only the diehards who come here who probably even remember them, and maybe some bloke called Chad because he once saw them play a set in a local titty bar.

When you talk about bands like Poison, Motley, Leppard, Jovi, Warrant, Whitesnake or Ratt, yeah these bands have a name that people will easily recognise and go see or buy their albums, no matter who is in the band. But Autograph, Jailhouse, Pretty Boy Floyd, Roxy Blue, Wildside or Tyketto as good as people might find them, on a world wide scale they are pretty much unknown and will only pull in smaller loyal fanbases.

 

The way I would look at it is this. LA Guns sits somewhere in between those two lists, they still sell reasonable amounts of albums and fill out small venues, so anyone in a lower tier than that is gonna struggle if a band in a higher tier cannot do bigger venues.

[CureTheSane]

2 hours ago, Captain Howdy said:

I think the way they see it is if they go out under a different name, 50 people might show up to their gig.

If they go out as Autograph, 52 might show up.

 

Serious answer is, the band name Autograph has more value than any of the members.

People might remember they had that one song that was really popular because it featured in Grand Theft Auto Vice City, but who the hell has heard of any of the current members? Simon is probably the highest profile name in the band, but Jailhouse is hardly a band even people from the scene had heard of. It is only the diehards who come here who probably even remember them, and maybe some bloke called Chad because he once saw them play a set in a local titty bar.

When you talk about bands like Poison, Motley, Leppard, Jovi, Warrant, Whitesnake or Ratt, yeah these bands have a name that people will easily recognise and go see or buy their albums, no matter who is in the band. But Autograph, Jailhouse, Pretty Boy Floyd, Roxy Blue, Wildside or Tyketto as good as people might find them, on a world wide scale they are pretty much unknown and will only pull in smaller loyal fanbases.

 

The way I would look at it is this. LA Guns sits somewhere in between those two lists, they still sell reasonable amounts of albums and fill out small venues, so anyone in a lower tier than that is gonna struggle if a band in a higher tier cannot do bigger venues.

Yeah, and I'd say Quiet Riot is also somewhere inbetween as well.

I think people who are still bothered to buy new music from LA Guns Quiet Riot, Autograph, and also a bunch of other bands that are more 'legit' as far as members go such as Steelheart, Little Caesar, Faster Pussycat, etc etc are just as likely to know about the music nop matter what the band is called.

These days it's really about the die hards.
And believe it or not, the fact that we are here even discussing this, mkes us die hards by default, no matter how much we dig the music or not.
 

[Captain Howdy]

https://metalsludge.tv/band-news-autograph-co-founder-and-guitarist-steve-lynch-updates-followers-with-what-he-calls-an-important-legal-victory/

[Captain Howdy]

"We are pleased to announce that the parties to the lawsuit over the Autograph name have reached an agreement. We will no longer perform as “Autograph” and will have no association or any involvement with Autograph or it’s founding members. Beginning on May 1, we will perform as a new band called “Autograph Beyond” with Simon Daniels, Marc Wieland, Jimi Bell and Steve Unger. Our live performances will provide a fun and enjoyable high energy RockShow.

With sincere gratitude, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to our dedicated friends and fans for their support".

 

Had to laugh at "We are pleased to announce". If you were pleased with this outcome you never would have pushed forward with this lawsuit in the first place.If you were adamant you had the right to use the name, you would not be pleased with being told you can't use it.

Thank fuck for this, as they were not Autograph in any way shape or form.