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Weezer: The Beer Lawsuit
10/03/2006 1:06 PM, E! Online
Divided they stand, together they sue.
Looking for a cure for what ales them, the apparently still-together
members of Weezer sued Miller Brewing Co. Friday, accusing the
Milwaukee-based institution of unlawfully using the band's image in a
series of print ads to promote beer and other alcoholic beverages.
According to the alt-rock quartet's complaint, the three
ads that showed up in 2004 on the pages of Rolling Stone
misappropriated the band's name and image by stating that Weezer--along
with "other bands and musical performers with whom [Weezer] do not wish
to be associated in any advertisement"--endorsed Miller products.
Not wanting anyone to destroy their sweater or their image,
Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo, drummer Patrick Wilson, guitarist Brian
Bell and bassist Scott Shriner are seeking actual damages (they feel the
misappropriation of their good name has cost them millions); all profits
received by Miller and fellow defendants from the ads in question;
punitive damages amounting to three times either the actual damages or
the defendants' profits, whichever is higher; and an injunction against
any further use of the band's image.
Weezer has also
targeted marketing firm Young & Rubicam and production company Giannini
Creative Imaging in the lawsuit.
Although following
the platinum-level success of 2005's Make Believe Cuomo told
MTV News in July that Weezer's latest break may be a
break-up, an Aug. 12 posting on the band's Website referred to
the members' current state as "one of positivity and growth."
"Now please, take those 'Weezer split?' headlines and place
them firmly into the 'Don't believe the hype' bin," read the site a week
later. As of last weekend, a live DVD project was on hold, however, and
while cover art has been created for a greatest-hits album, no new songs
have been recorded yet. "It if happens, it will definitely have some new
tracks," the band said, adding that Cuomo has been working on some fresh
material.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Maladroit
boys are keeping busy while Cuomo cleanses his aura and enjoys married
life after almost three years of self-imposed celibacy (he tied the knot
with Kyoko Ito in June).
Bell and Wilson went retro
to play Lou Reed and John Cale in the upcoming Edie Sedgwick biopic
Factory Girl, starring Sienna Miller as the Andy Warhol muse. The
Weezer mates also recorded a cover of Velvet Underground's "Heroin" for
the film's soundtrack.
Wilson has a side band,
too--The Special Goodness, with The Offspring drummer Atom Willard--and
Bell fronts his own group, Space Twins, as well.
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