Interview with drummer Lex Vegas | By Tony Shrum
Cadaver Dogs’ music was featured in a RadioShack commercial, pretty sweet right!? Well, the song was credited to another artist and that’s not very sweet, so the boys are working to get due compensation. If you wanna get some back story, go here.
So this Radio Shack business. Did you give RadioShack permission to use the song? Was there any communication at all?
We had absolutely no communication with them whatsoever. Our song was picked by an ad agency and they idiotically credited a different artist so from the get go this completely different person got all of the credit, publicity, promotion, and presumably, tons of tail.
When did you find out the song was being used?
We were actually at a show setting up our gear and all of a sudden our inboxes started filling up with people congratulating us on the day the commercial debuted. People from all over the country started messaging to tell us they heard it and we didn’t know what the hell they were talking about, so we ran to our van to watch it and make sure it really was us, and sure enough that tasty guitar lick was unmistakable.
Were you at least a little stoked at first, then realizing they were using your song without proper consent?
It was a strange mix of feelings, obviously it’s awesome to watch Michael Phelps crank up your tune at a pool party, but it was a little violating as well. We weren’t sure if somehow they found a loophole and were able to legally use it without permission, for about 45 seconds. Then we snapped back to reality and realized we were getting fucked.
Have you received any compensation for the use of your song?
Not yet. We’re currently embroiled in a very intense lawsuit with a number of different parties including RadioShack, Samsung, Motorola, the ad agency that made the commercial, the music licensing company that gave them our song, and the artist that did get the money and the credit. They tried to settle with us once for a pretty paltry amount and we told them to go suck eggs.
The commercial is basically non-existent any more so seeing it is near impossible. How would you be able to prove it was used at this point? What if RadioShack workers are scurrying to destroy all evidence?
We were able to download it before it was taken down, plus there were numerous press releases and articles written about the commercial when it first came out. Also, we filed our lawsuit before it was taken down, and were actually able to get them to change the credits to include us before they took it down altogether. They just don’t want it to get more views because then the damage is greater and we stand to make more money. MORE MONEY.
Anything else you want to add about the situation?
We understand that it was an accidental situation and that no one intended to screw us over or use our shit without permission, but it doesn’t change the fact that it happened. You have to take responsibility for your fuck ups. The amount of publicity and attention that we could have garnered from being credited in the first place would have been huge, and it sucks that now we have to try to get the same amount of attention through a shitty lawsuit, but you do what you gotta do. Every Cadaver Dog has it’s day.
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Cadaver Dogs are currently in the midst of a massive U.S. tour. Catch them and commiserate about times you’ve been screwed by “the man” at one of the following dates:
11/13- Las Vegas, NV- Vamp’d
11/14- San Diego, CA- Til Two Club
11/16- Sacramento, CA- Cafe Colonial*
11/17- San Francisco, CA- Neck of the Woods*
11/18- Reno, NV- Shea’s*
11/19- Eugene, OR- Black Forest*
11/20- Portland, OR- Kelly’s Olympian*
11/21- Seattle, WA- 2Bit*
11/22- Caldwell, ID- The Venue
11/23- Salt Lake City, UT- Burt’s Tiki Lounge
11/24- Denver, CO- Lion’s Lair
11/25- Lincoln, NE- Bourbon Theatre
11/26- Burlington, IA- The Washington
*w/ A Happy Death
