January 14, 1998

Years before Orlando became the focus of the electronica scene, we were pretty much a breeding ground for second-rate metal bands. There was a great drought of bands through much of the early 90's - not much to focus national attention on the scene as a whole or on any "breakthrough band".

Then there was Tabitha's Secret. A few years ago, they were one of the most popular bands in Orlando. Their early studio recordings made the difficult cross-over onto Orlando "pop" radio stations. Major labels were checking out their showcases. On the edge of success, what could make a band fall apart into warring factions? What could lead to two different versions of the same song by different bands on different labels? According to Tabitha's Secret, it's greed, deception and the politics of entertainment.

In the summer of 1995, Tabitha's Secret had finished recording a 4-song demo with producer Matt Serletic in partnership with the band. At a show in Tallahassee, representatives from Atlantic Records expressed interest in signing a contract. That same night, Serletic announced to the band that the Atlantic deal would be between him and the label and that he would not include the whole band: Rob Thomas, Paul Doucette and Brian Yale would later emerge as Matchbox 20 on Atlantic with Serletic as producer. Their album Yourself or Someone Like You went multi-platinum. This year, they're nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.

Now, with the release of Don't Play With Fire on Forbidden Records, the remaining Tabitha's Secret members (Jay Stanley and John Goff) have filed a lawsuit against their former bandmates and producer (and attorney David Mantel), arguing that they were excluded from "secret meetings" about the Atlantic deal because they weren't willing to sign a long-term agreement with Serletic. The stories of shady dealings, "secret meetings", greed and abuse of power told in the lawsuit paint a dark picture of the entertainment industry.

The stakes get high when a band falls apart, especially if the words "major label", "multi-platinum" or "Grammy Award" start being used in the same sentence. Add in the word "lawsuit" and even the attention of MTV. Petty bickering and bruised egos or backstabbing and greed - it will take the courts now to settle this one.

Brian Clark I've worked as a professional musician, a pizza deliverer, a graphic designer, a record promoter, a database programmer, a youth empowerment coordinator and a recording engineer (not necessarily in that order.) Other Articles I've Written