Josh Homme, Kyuss Lawsuit: Rocker Sues Kyuss Lives! for Trademark Infringement

Frank Hoensch, Getty Images

Kyuss Lives! Evidently, it litigates, too. Yesterday (March 10), Josh Homme and Scott Reeder issued a statement explaining why they're suing former Kyuss bandmates John Garcia, Nick Oliveri and Brant Bjork, who regrouped last year and toured as Kyuss Lives!, performing the beloved stoner-rock outfit's songs all over the world.

While Homme, who now fronts Queens of the Stone Age, and Reeder declined to participate in the Kyuss reunion, they initially supported the idea. Their lawsuit alleges "trademark infringement and consumer fraud" and stems from what they claim is the their former compadres' attempts to purloin the group's name.

"It sucks," Homme and Reeder said in a statement. "To think we went to a meeting in January solely to help them with their request to continue Kyuss Lives! With open arms, we made every attempt to help them continue Kyuss Lives! respectfully. Only to discover while they looked us in the eye, Kyuss Lives! management and band had filed federal documents in 2011 in an attempt to steal the name Kyuss. This is desperately what we were trying to avoid. It's a sad day for us and for John -- but most of all for the fans. What a needless mess."

As news of the suit spread, Reeder caught some gruff, and he took to Facebook this morning to defend himself.

"Maaaaaaan, I've been called every foul name in the book [on Saturday], and all I did was make a choice to stand up to defend and retain small rights that I should be able to keep sacred and unhindered for the rest of my life and beyond," he wrote, according to Blabbermouth.

"I didn't have much of a choice: lose all of the rights in two weeks, or keep them forever," he added. "I didn't choose to be in this situation at all -- I was forced to react very quickly with a looming deadline, and it's been rough. I saw people bitterly divided [yesterday] over this stupid stuff... crazy. But the overwhelming support from friends and family was very much appreciated and needed. Thank you."

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