EXCLUSIVE
Kevin Spacey has threatened an indie music act with legal action over the use of his name as an album title.
Jason Drake -- a Los Angeles-based musician and producer who records under the name Cassettes Won't Listen [5] -- had titled his forthcoming solo album "Kevinspacey," pressing several thousand copies. But lawyers for the actor hit Drake with a cease-and-desist letter in late April, Drake's representatives said, claiming that Kevin Spacey's name is trademarked not only for acting, but also for music. (Spacey's lawyers did not immediately return a request for comment.)
Spacey, you’ll recall, portrayed big band singer Bobby Darin in 2004's "Beyond the Sea" -- a film he co-wrote, directed, produced and sang in. He also contributed a song to the "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" soundtrack.
Drake has since dropped the "K," re-titling the record "Evinspacey [6]." The album is due out June 21st [6] on the small Daylight Curfew [7] label.
It's worth noting that Drake has a history of stunts that result in threatening letters. In 2008, he was served with a cease and desist by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) over the unauthorized release of a Guns N' Roses/Ludacris mashup called "Ludacris Democracy." The mashup was subsequently pulled from the Web.
[8]While albums named for actors or filmmakers are somewhat rare, song titles (think Gorillaz' "Clint Eastwood" or Fugazi's “Cassavetes”) and actor-inspired band names are fairly common -- Com Truise, Gay for Johnny Depp (a Brooklyn hardcore band with an apparent homoerotic obsession for "Captain Jack"), Abe Vigoda and Mary Tyler Morphine, to name just a few.
Legal threats over such names are not. Just last month, Spike Lee threatened to sue [9] a Maryland punk-pop band called "A Spike Lee Joint." The group's lead singer, G'Ra Asim, told the Washington Post they "arrived at its name by taking a touchstone of black culture and repurposing it [10]." (“There’s nothing more punk than that,” Asim said.) However, the band said it would honor Lee's request [9].
Santogold, the Brooklyn-based singer, was forced to change her name [11] to Santigold in 2009 after Santo Gold [12], a little-known filmmaker and infomercial producer, filed suit over the name.
Lawsuits like these occasionally go the other way, too. In 2007, the Red Hot Chili Peppers filed suit [13] against Showtime over use of "Californication" name.
"'Californication' is the signature CD, video and song of the band’s career," Chili Pepper frontman Anthony Kiedis said in the court filing [14]. "For some TV show to come along and steal our identity is not right." The case was eventually settled out of court.
Editor's Note: Right-click here for a free MP3 of "Perfect Day" [15] from "Evinspacey."