FROM: TODD BRODGINSKI
ROCK GROUP
FUEL
ISSUE CEASE AND DESIST REQUEST TO TOYOTA
FOR THEIR UPCOMING “FUEL THE MUSIC TOUR”
IN ORDER TO HALT CONFUSION
Multi-platinum rock group FUEL have requested that the corporate sponsors of a rock concert tour that is causing confusion among fans “cease and desist” from using the FUEL trademark. The groupÑwhose two albums SUNBURN and SOMETHING LIKE HUMAN have sold over four million copies worldwideÑhave asked Toyota to refrain from using the “Fuel The Music Tour” moniker in conjunction with a rock concert tour that the car manufacturer is sponsoring.
The Pennsylvania-based quartetÑwhose hits include the #1 rock tracks “Shimmer” and “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)” as well as “Bad Day,” “Last Time,” “Jesus Or A Gun” and “Innocent”Ñhave been known as FUEL since 1995. Songwriter/guitarist CARL BELL says, “We want to clarify any confusion among our fans, and just feel this is an unfortunate oversight by the organizers of this tour. We wish the tour well, but we’ve fought long and hard to make a name for ourselves and don’t want to mislead music fans in any way. Music and touring are what we do, so we have to protect our name.”
The group became aware of the problem when an ad for the “Fuel The Music Tour” ran in the February issue of a major music magazine on the same page as a photo of the band FUEL. Fans of FUEL–who are off the road after touring for 18 months–began emailing their website and inquiring about the group’s participation in the “Fuel The Music Tour.”