Hollywood Potato Chip
Encyclopedia
Hollywood Potato Chip is the tenth studio album by the Southern California
punk rock
band The Vandals
, released in 2004 by Kung Fu Records
. A music video
starring guitarist and producer Warren Fitzgerald
was filmed for the band's cover version
of Queen
's "Don't Stop Me Now
". The album's title is a euphemism
for dried semen
on a casting couch
. Its original cover art used lettering that parodied
the logo of Variety
, prompting legal action and a cease and desist
order from the magazine which resulted in a replacement cover with redesigned lettering. In 2010 the magazine brought further legal action against the band over third-party uses of the original cover appearing on the internet.
issued a cease and desist
order against The Vandals over the design of the band's name on the album cover. The design mimicked the logo of the magazine as an intentional comment on the materialistic culture of Hollywood, and the magazine accused the band of trademark infringement. The lawsuit was settled with redesigned lettering which appears on all subsequent pressings of the album.
However, in April 2010 Variety filed a lawsuit against the band in a Delaware
court, suing them over images of the original cover appearing on the internet. The magazine claimed that the band "ignored their agreement" and were "misusing our mark". The Vandals claimed that they had ceased using the parody logo per the terms of the cease and desist order, and they were not responsible for images placed on the internet by third parties:
The Vandals planned a benefit show to raise money to cover their legal fees, and considered legal action against Variety to lift the injunction against use of the original logo: "After reading the public filing against us by the Daily Variety it is clear they are abusing this injunction to shake us down for money, and by filing against us when there are no prohibited images on any sites under our control, they have breached the settlement agreement between us. We did not agree to be responsible for 3rd party distributors of this product. That was clear in the settlement agreement." The band promised two tickets to the benefit to anyone who was able to notify them of a usage of the Variety-mocking logo on a site under the band's control. In April 2011 The Vandals successfully petitioned to have the case moved from Delaware to California.
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Vandals
The Vandals
The Vandals are an American rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
, released in 2004 by Kung Fu Records
Kung Fu Records
Kung Fu Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996 by Joe Escalante and Warren Fitzgerald of the punk rock band The Vandals. Founded in order to release a record by the Riverside, California band Assorted Jelly Beans, the label soon grew to include a roster of notable artists...
. A music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
starring guitarist and producer Warren Fitzgerald
Warren Fitzgerald
Warren Fitzgerald is an American punk rock musician, guitarist, songwriter, and record label owner.-Overview and business:Warren Fitzgerald is most famous for being the current guitarist of The Vandals...
was filmed for the band's cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
's "Don't Stop Me Now
Don't Stop Me Now
"Don't Stop Me Now" is a song by English rock group Queen, featured on their 1978 album Jazz. Written by vocalist Freddie Mercury, it was recorded in August/September 1978 at Super Bear Studios in Berre-les-Alpes , France, and is the twelfth track on the album.Musically, the song is based around...
". The album's title is a euphemism
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
for dried semen
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
on a casting couch
Casting couch
The casting couch, casting couch syndrome or casting couch mentality is a term which involves the trading of sexual favors by an aspirant, apprentice employee, or subordinate to a superior, in return for entry into an occupation, or for other career advancement within an organization...
. Its original cover art used lettering that parodied
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
the logo of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, prompting legal action and a cease and desist
Cease and desist
A cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity and not to take it up again later or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
order from the magazine which resulted in a replacement cover with redesigned lettering. In 2010 the magazine brought further legal action against the band over third-party uses of the original cover appearing on the internet.
Cover artwork controversy
The album's cover was a source of legal controversy. A few months after the album's release, entertainment industry magazine VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
issued a cease and desist
Cease and desist
A cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity and not to take it up again later or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
order against The Vandals over the design of the band's name on the album cover. The design mimicked the logo of the magazine as an intentional comment on the materialistic culture of Hollywood, and the magazine accused the band of trademark infringement. The lawsuit was settled with redesigned lettering which appears on all subsequent pressings of the album.
However, in April 2010 Variety filed a lawsuit against the band in a Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
court, suing them over images of the original cover appearing on the internet. The magazine claimed that the band "ignored their agreement" and were "misusing our mark". The Vandals claimed that they had ceased using the parody logo per the terms of the cease and desist order, and they were not responsible for images placed on the internet by third parties:
We agreed not to use this logo anymore and we have no product for sale with this logo so their claims that we are intentionally using it and harming the Daily Variety are ludicrous. Now they are in the process of punishing us with an abusive lawsuit filed in Delaware, where none of the parties reside or do business, because this will cause us the most financial harm and when we get sick of it, and realize we can't afford to fight them, we will pay them the money. That is our opinion of what is going on because we cooperated in every way to try to take the images down, but they filed the suit anyway.... in Delaware.
The Vandals planned a benefit show to raise money to cover their legal fees, and considered legal action against Variety to lift the injunction against use of the original logo: "After reading the public filing against us by the Daily Variety it is clear they are abusing this injunction to shake us down for money, and by filing against us when there are no prohibited images on any sites under our control, they have breached the settlement agreement between us. We did not agree to be responsible for 3rd party distributors of this product. That was clear in the settlement agreement." The band promised two tickets to the benefit to anyone who was able to notify them of a usage of the Variety-mocking logo on a site under the band's control. In April 2011 The Vandals successfully petitioned to have the case moved from Delaware to California.
Track listing
Band
- Dave Quackenbush – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Warren FitzgeraldWarren FitzgeraldWarren Fitzgerald is an American punk rock musician, guitarist, songwriter, and record label owner.-Overview and business:Warren Fitzgerald is most famous for being the current guitarist of The Vandals...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backing vocals, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Joe EscalanteJoe EscalanteJoseph Patrick "Joe" Escalante is an American musician, record label owner, radio host, film and music video director, and amateur matador, as well as a former television executive and entertainment lawyer...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Josh FreeseJosh FreeseJosh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Production
- Greg Koller and Kevin Augunas – recording engineers
- Jeremy Mackenzie and Jon St. James – assistant engineers
- Jason Gossman and Seth Waldman – mix engineerMix engineerA mix engineer, also referred to as "mixing engineer", is a person who, once all instruments, voices, and sounds, etc., have been recorded, creates what is called the final version of a song, hence the term "mix engineer"...
s - Brain Gardner – audio masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Tony Vitali – illustrations and art direction
- Lisa Johnson – band photos