Beatallica

Beatallica are a satire band that play music made from combinations of songs of The Beatles and Metallica. The songs' lyrics and music include phrases from both bands.

Related Topics:
Satire - The Beatles - Metallica

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The project was founded in 2001 as a spoof by singer Jaymz Lennfield and guitarist Krk Hammetson. The EP A Garage Dayz Nite was recorded for the annual "Spoof Fest" concert held annually in Milwaukee, as a memento of that year's concert. A few dozen copies of the EP were handed out to friends. Later that year, one of those CD's made its way to Milwaukee resident David Dixon, who created a web page that included mp3's of the songs and named the band "Beatallica". The band was unaware of the webpage until Dixon finally met them in the summer of 2002, carrying a stack of fan emails from all around the world. Beatallica gave the webpage its blessings, and after further urgings from its internet fanbase, recorded the EP Beatallica, releasing it online on April 1, 2004.

Related Topics:
2001 - 2004

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Later in 2004, the band (now including bassist Kliff McBurtney and drummer Ringo Larz) started to perform at live venues, with a stage show incorporating elements from both Beatles and Metallica performances.

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To avoid legal problems, the band maintains a strict non-commercial policy (all songs are available for free download) and shrouds themselves in anonymity (all names mentioned above are of course stage names). Metallica are aware of the spoof band's existence and have so far not threatened to take any legal action; Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett have all publicly stated that they enjoy Beatallica's music.

Related Topics:
Lars Ulrich - James Hetfield - Kirk Hammett

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On February 17th, 2005, a cease-and-desist notice was sent to Beatallica by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company which holds rights to most of the Beatles catalogue. The notice states that the "music", "news" and "merchandise" sections of the official Beatallica website constitute a copyright violation and should therefore be taken down. In response to this, a petition requesting Sony/ATV Music Publishing to retract its threat of legal action was created. The band was saved from further legal action by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, who offered to provide assistance with legal negotiations and also asked Metallica's longtime attorney to try to defuse the situation with Sony. Ultimately, Sony decided not to pursue legal action against Beatallica, but maintains the right to do so in the future if necessary.

Related Topics:
February 17th - 2005 - Cease-and-desist - Sony - Copyright violation - Petition - Lars Ulrich

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