Something went wrong in the Joe Lynn Turner’s camp and today this open letter landed on our editorial floor:
Dear Fans and Media Friends,
I am aware of a compilation of unfinished demo songs that was published on the Internet by an individual named Scott Rolaf. These demos were recorded in my studio about two years ago. While there was discussion of releasing some of them as part of an album for a special project, I was not happy with the way the collaboration was progressing on all levels…artistically, musically and in how it was prematurely presented online. This is why I stopped having contact with Scott Rolaf. We were at odds, however, he continued to pretend on the social media sites that we were still friends and that this project was moving forward. This was an outright lie.
I never had confirmed plans for this album to be released but Rolaf took it upon himself to publish a website and other social media sites (i.e. Reverbnation, etc.) without getting prior approval from me. This misled my fans, members of my street team and several reputable media outlets. I have since severed my professional and personal relationship with Scott Rolaf permanently.
Scott Rolaf’s recent posting of these demos for free download in the form of an “album” is unethical. I have taken legal action to protect my artistic/intellectual property and reputation. On July 21, 2011, Rolaf was served a Cease and Desist by my lawyers. Sometime around July 29, 2011, he had the audacity to post free files of these demos along with a “new” press release which he wrote. These actions are, in my opinion, nothing more than an attempt by Scott Rolaf to gain fame on my name!
I admit that I made the mistake of trusting Rolaf with some unfinished songwriting demos… simple ideas, incomplete performances, music, vocals, production, etc. He betrayed that trust by releasing these songs without legal or personal confirmation. This is an unscrupulous, immoral act, and, by the laws that protect artistic/intellectual property, it is criminal!
It is individuals who take actions, like Rolaf did, who hurt and destroy the hopes and chances of thousands of honest and talented artists who want and need a helping hand to climb the ladder of success! This action is a pathetic example to the true creative people who love to write and perform music. What a stain on the heart of honest art!
My loyal friends and fans know of the high quality of work I have delivered throughout my career. To think that Scott Rolaf, to whom I extended my hand in friendship as well as professional trust, has betrayed me by releasing unfinished/unapproved works, is an outrage!
My only hope is that you can understand this situation and realize that this is a sad event that can happen to anybody… anywhere… regardless of position and status. Don’t let it happen to you.
Sincerely,
Joe Lynn Turner
The following interview with journalist James Gaden from February 2011 provides some background to what happened (originally published in Fireworks Issue 45):
JAMES: I’m also intrigued to hear the album you’ve done with Scott Rolaf, because again, the snippets I’ve heard online sounded good.
JLT: Well, look… alright, I’ve got to tell you the skinny on that right now. It’s on hold. I’ve got some personal problems with Rolaf… I never agreed to the Rolaf/Turner name. I never agreed to have any of the clips on Facebook or wherever the F**K they were. Everything has been taken down for now. The songs are still there, but we’ve had some problems between us. He’s the kind of guy – maybe you have someone in your life like this, they just go off and they do what they want. All of a sudden, you go ‘Hey, I’m supposed to be your partner!’ I’m over in Europe somewhere, I come back and there’s bits and pieces of this thing all over the place. That is not the way to market something. I don’t mind him leaking a few things here and there, but those were demos. You should hear these things now, we’ve got real drums, real bass, we’ve been tearing down the fluff and making it real. It’s so much better. So I don’t want to totally abandon “the songs” but I’m not Rolaf/Turner. I never agreed to that. This guy is a wannabe star, he’s putting his name first – this isn’t Hughes/Turner, this is not comparable. I was incised at that.
JAMES: I can understand that. It was your name that drew my interest to the project anyway. I’d probably have completely ignored it if you hadn’t been attached to it.
JLT: He’s riding on my back isn’t he? We were supposed to be getting a big marketing company, hitting the internet, setting up all the right things, putting out ads… that’s correct, that’s the way to do it. Then Scott starts releasing stuff everywhere and we were like ‘Hey, you’re giving away the game!’ I don’t mind a snippet here and there but it became ridiculous.
That, and the name he came up with, he did that himself and he was looking to press CD’s and put out the demos from the computer without real drums, the tracks were murky and awful… I said hey, I don’t do that standard. It’s a low standard for me. If my name is going on it, I’ve gotta have it right. Anyway, we had a big f**king argument and he called me all kinds of names and I was ready to punch him out, I swear I was. So I said ‘Alright, I’m done with your ass. You’re an egotist – you’re arrogant and it’s not even earned.’ I said ‘You’ve done nothing, and if I open my hand and release you, you’ll go back into obscurity where you belong’. I said ‘Just because you have a bit of talent to write a fair song… please, I’ve written hundreds of great songs. Have the common decency, respect and consideration for a partnership.’ If you don’t have that, you have nothing. So that’s it, you have the full story there in a nutshell. Right now, it’s on hold. The songs are there, lots of good songs, but I also got a whole album of songs with a guy in Sweden that will just blow your mind. I don’t mean heavy rock stuff, it’s in a much more commercial, radio orientated way. It’s got writing from guys like Gary Baker from Nashville, guys who wrote for Backstreet Boys, it’s just a set of brilliant songs. We’re finishing up the drums now and stuff – the only thing I’m worried about is the vocals, they’re demo vocals.
I was reading the lyrics, really just mapping out the songs, but the recordings sound so good! I don’t know whether I need to go and put some excitement in there… I don’t know, I feel I’ve got so much more ability vocally than what is on there, but people who’ve heard them are just saying it’s a great other side of me. I digress, but I’m just saying I don’t need this. Working with a guy who has come out of obscurity, all the while I was under the impression he’d follow my lead because I’m the experienced one, but I found out that apparently he was the important one, he was the rock star, and I’m just a tool to sing the songs. So I said ‘Oh really? F**k you’.
It’s tough, on one side he’s actually quite a nice guy, but on the other side, he can be a f**king asshole! Not unlike everyone else. (laughs)
Thanks to Lisa Walker for the info.
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Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing