After Eight Years, The Battle Between The Vandals And Daily Variety Is Finally Over

photo: vandals.com

It’s been a way-too-long process, but The Vandals have finally gotten Daily Variety to leave them alone.

“ This was the worst thing that's ever happened to me, and to the band, and the hardest thing I've ever done.
” Joe Escalante The Orange County-based punk band has been locked in a legal battle with the entertainment publication (and parent its company Reed Elsevier) since 2004, when they were sued for parodying Variety’s logo on the cover of their album Hollywood Potato Chip.

Although seen by most as a clear-cut use of the 1st Amendment, the magazine and it’s army of lawyers instead tried to bully the band into a gigantic sum of money, which would have devastated the lives of the band’s members: Dave Quackenbush, Joe Escalante, Warren Fitzgerald and Josh Freese.

At first, The Vandals tried to settle and make good with changing the album cover, but after continued attacks from Daily Variety, decided enough was enough and stood up for themselves. 

In an exclusive to Hollywood Reporter, bassist Joe Escalante announced that Daily Variety has finally dropped the suit:

“This was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, and to the band, and the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” says Escalante, who represented The Vandals himself. “However, as my wife says, the crash course in federal court litigation made me a better lawyer.”

During the long ordeal, The Vandals chronicled the dispute on their website, posting practically every legal document that they prepared or received. It’s a lot of legal mumbo jumbo, but fascinating to go through nonetheless.

The band wrote a post on their Facebook page last night, announcing the end of the lawsuit and thanking their fans for their support:

“It’s official. They dismissed the complaint against us two years after filing the lawsuit against us in Delaware. 8 years after suing us the first time. The trial was set for April 3. This is the same result we would have if we went through the trial and won, so we’re very happy with this outcome. Read the Hollywood Reporter account of the final outcome and leave a comment there for all the Variety people to see because they read that blog. We’ll make a more formal statement about the result soon. Thanks to everyone who supported us. We would have been killed if we didn’t have supporters. You guys were amazing. We are now working on a new album finally. “

Congratulations to Dave, Joe, Warren, and Josh! And good on you for standing up to corporate bullying.

Also great news for everyone, new Vandals music can happen now!

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