The tribute band, spearheaded by local musician Kevin O’Brien, has begun to tease an upcoming high-quality re-recorded album. Jim Holbrook, the original Fever in the Funkhouse bassist, says O’Brien is doing so without his permission.
Earlier this month, Holbrook commented in the Facebook group “Club Dada (1986-2003)” that he does not endorse the tribute band or the use of copyrighted music bearing his name. Holbrook claimed that he has warned O’Brien and the other original Fever members against using his music.
“There has always been a battle for proper songwriting credit among the original members … looks like that battle is currently escalating,” Holbrook commented. “This could get ugly … legally speaking. Sadly.”
Holbrook also left comments on the tribute band’s own post in early March. In a series of now-deleted comments, Holbrook claimed that O’Brien is a “maladjusted individual” who was trying to recruit musicians for a Fever tribute band “before and apparently during” the memorial for Brad Houser, Dallas bassist and co-founder of New Bohemians, who passed away last year. Holbrook went on to say that O’Brien “took advantage of his friendship years ago,” which led to Holbrook blocking O’Brien from his life.
Holbrook also called out other original members of Fever, including drummer Bryan Wakeland, and said they were “complicit” in making O’Brien the new administrator of the band’s Facebook page.
“O'Brien has approached Wakeland (who has no Fever songwriting credit whatsoever) knowing full and well how I would object to anyone using music I authored that bears my name and using it WITHOUT my permission!” Holbrook commented. "Wakeland knows this too! So then this is exploitative and legally wrong on so many counts.”
In a comment made on March 8, Holbrook cited an article from Copyright.gov, which states that others need to “get permission from the copyright holder directly, or license the work according to the terms set by the licensing contract." In the comment, Holbrook explained how it is necessary for O’Brien to get such permission from the Fever songwriter to use and perform the band’s songs, as “no one has asked for [his] permission to use any compositions that also bear [his] name.”
A Question of Copyright
On the morning of March 12, O’Brien responded that Holbrook’s claims of unlawful licensing are false, as the copyright holder to a musical composition cannot refuse to give someone a license to record their own audio-only version. The copyright holder is entitled to be compensated for the license, but the mechanical license is available for audio-only recordings. “In other words know how it works,” O’Brien commented. “Refer to your own words. Copyright is about unlawful duplication. What do you think Taylor Swift is doing re-recording songs she doesn't own? Like [the] recent release of 1989 (Taylor's Version)?”
In separate comments on the same post, O’Brien referred to Holbrook as an “angry, bitter 60-year-old man” and compared him to Pete Best, the Beatles’ original drummer who sued the band for ousting and replacing him with Ringo Starr. Despite public pushback and threats of legal action from Holbrook, O’Brien continues to post to the Fever Facebook page and has hinted at the release of a double album with “the most beautiful recordings of great songs” that is coming “very soon.”
Some Fever fans have said in the comments that they question the legitimacy of the page and tribute band after seeing Holbrook’s take on it. One account even tagged Wakeland in the comments to ask him about his knowledge of the situation. Despite Holbrook and O’Brien’s hostile interactions across several Fever posts, many fans’ comments seem to be more focused on the return of some of their favorite music rather than the possibility of a tribute band legal battle.
“I’m here for the music, but from some of the comments it sounds like there is something else happening here,” Katherine Cornwell commented. “Fucking unfortunate. I’m going to hold on to the music and the good times this band provided in some dark times. It was a light, still is, hope you guys figure it out.”
