Claiming a rare musical conspiracy, Geils mentioned in the lawsuit that band members Richard Salwitz, Danny Klein, Peter Wolf and Seth Justman had “planned and conspired” to exclude Geils from performing with them under the J. Geils Band name on an announced tour. The band members have planned 11 concerts without Geils as “The J. Geils Band,” scheduled to start from August 25 in Syracuse, New York.
The original J. Geils Band had released about 13 studio albums between 1967 and 1985. They charted popular hits like “Centerfold” (1981) and “Freeze Frame.”
Geils is seeking to prevent other members from using the trademarked name of the band and damages. The lawyer for Geils, Charley Grimes, said, “Together they’re the J. Geils Band, but separately they’r Mr. Wolf, Mr. Salwitz, Mr. Klein, and Mr. Justman … They do not have the right to take his name and use it, and try to deny him the right to use his own name.”
James Weinberger, the attorney for the other members of the band denied the allegations made by Geils and Francesca Records and said, “We will address the claims in the lawsuit including our own claims against John Geils and Francesca Records at the appropriate time.”
Music is all about timing, or about facing it…