Here's an example of a manager/label screwing a band

**hain23x** · 01.27.02, 09:39 PM

When I was in college there was a group in the town called Government Cheese. These guys had managed to get pretty good and hooked up with guy who had his own label and promised to make them big stars. They signed with him, hit the road, and even managed to make a video which ran on Mtv a couple of times.

well anyway, the relationship with the manager(who also owned the label) tourned sour and the band wanted out.

but there was a catch.

they couldn't record as "Government Cheese" for 7 years!!! Somewhere in the fine print they had missed this and it came back and bit them on the ass.

these guys broke up and started other bands, and would later "reunite" for a couple of shows but the band was pretty much over.

(so for the van halen content) I wonder if Van Halen have accidently gotten themselves into something like this???

**Rikk** · 01.27.02, 10:14 PM

It was an amicable split, and probably had nothing to do with the band's name. I do think the band thought they could get a label that would give them more exposure for their next release. If this next release turns out to be a 4th singer-album, they're in for a surprise.

**Yesterdays** · 01.27.02, 10:17 PM

Van Halen content first: No, didn't we just learn that EVLH, Inc. has copyrighted the Van Halen name?

Non-Van Halen content(shhhh): Here's an example of a band screwing their manager. When Def Leppard first started, a local record store owner financed their gear and added a little money towards an EP (their mommies and daddies forked out the rest.) Then the band asked him to manage them. He got them gigs and then sold the record in his shop where it was bought by Peter Mensch, who snatched the band, signed them to a management contract and led them on to make millions!

[ January 27, 2002 at 10:20 PM: Message edited by: Yesterdays ]</p>

**VanEdge** · 01.27.02, 10:22 PM

hain, i hear ya.. but there's no way in hell VH would be stuck in something like that after all these years. I'm sure they have renewed and renegotiated their WB deal several times over the years..
And when a band gets to the level VH had at its' peak, you can bet they'd rework a snag like that out of their contract anyway.

but yeah, musicians get F'd all the time. it's amazing.