Green Day 'Pays up' San Diego band?

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Eliv8

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Riff Lift? Before Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was named "Record of the Year" at last Thursday's Grammy Awards, it was the only song ever to reach number one on the following Billboard charts: alternative, active rock/hard rock, Top 40/pop, and modern adult contemporary. The song is on the American Idiot CD, 4.5 million copies of which have been sold since its 2004 release.

In 2003, Encinitas-based Surfdog Records released an Agent 51 CD titled The Red and the Black. The guitar line at the beginning of the song "She's My Heroine" has a resemblance to the riff used in Green Day's "Boulevard." "She's My Heroine" was a regional hit for the now-disbanded Poway pop-punk band.

A source says that a six-figure settlement has been worked out between Green Day/Warner Bros. Records and Agent 51/Surfdog over the use of the riff. Green Day manager Pat Magnarella didn't return a phone call. Denisa Petricko, who handles licensing for Surfdog, responded, "I'm not allowed to give any information out about that."


Agent 51 May Still Strike It Big

Surfdog president Dave Kaplan said, "There is no pending settlement," though he did acknowledge that he's heard talk of the riff's similarity. When asked if there has been any communication between Surfdog and Warner Bros./Green Day over the issue, Kaplan declined to comment.

Former Agent 51 guitarist Eric Davis (now with the band 51 Guns) says, "I don't know what you're talking about." According to the source, any negotiations on behalf of Agent 51 would have been carried out by Kaplan.

An Agent 51/Green Day connection was reported in "Blurt" five years ago. In January of 2001, Agent 51 signed to Adeline Records, a Bay Area indie label launched by Green Day front man Billy Joe Armstrong. "Billy is a friend of the band," says the source.

Ken Leighton - San Diego Reader

Links to MP3'S here
http://www.sdreader.com/published/2006-02-16/blurt.html
 
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the ramones? if it's really supposed to be punk rock, how is that even debatable?


$$$$ :happy:
 
U2One said:
Wonderwall

And even that song is reminiscent of others.

It's rock and roll folks, everybody steals from everybody, intentionally or not.

I guess if it's blatant, as this Green Day thing appears to be, then that might be a different story, at least legally.

John Fogerty was once sued for stealing from himself.
 
Berto87 said:
Why the hell hasn't Brain Stew been accused of ripping of 25 To 6 To 4?

It has, just like 25 to 6 to 4 has been accused of ripping off of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You.
 
Bono's shades said:
I don't understand why Iggy Pop hasn't sued Jet over "Are You Going to Be My Girl?"

Frankly, I think that the Beatles would have a better case over Sexie Sad.... er, Look What You've Done.
 
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