[12-15-97 Mon] Three members of Matchbox 20 are being sued by some former bandmates who are claiming that the band has recorded one of their old songs. Before forming Matchbox 20, singer Rob Thomas, drummer Paul Doucette and bassist Brian Yale were in another band from Orlando, Florida called Tabitha's Secret. Two members of that band, guitarist Jay Stanley and bassist John Goff, are suing MB20's three members and also producer Matt Serletic and attorney David Mantel.
The lawsuit says that Serletic approached Tabitha's Secret about a long term agreement and producing a demo tape which included the track, "3AM," which is Matchobx 20's current single of their album "Yourself or Someone Like You". Mantel was then going to represent the band to Atlantic Records. According to the suit, Stanley and Goff say that when they were hesitant to enter a longterm agreement with Serletic, Thomas, Doucette, and Yale left to form a new band, Matchbox 20. But before they left the group, Thomas supposedly fired the band's manager and booking agent, canceled the rest of their tour, and declared that the band was breaking up, saying that the deal with Atlantic was only for him and that he could bring Yale and Doucette with him. This suit will probably be settled sometime next year.
Currently, Tabitha's Secret still exists and will have a new album out called "Don't Play With Matches."
Matchbox 20 - December 15, 1997
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