SAN FRANCISCO SOUND
MATTHEW KATZ PRODUCTIONS
29903 Harvester Rd.
Malibu, CA. 90265
(310) 457-4844 FAX (310) 457-1855
email sfsounds@aol.com
VIA FACSIMILE AND U.S. POST
January 13, 1998
Glendon Miskel, Esq.
JOHNSON & MISKEL
2330 Marinship Way
Suite 230
Sausalito, CA 94965-2800
Re: Alexander Spence Royalties
Dear Glendon:
This is in response to your facsimile dated January 10, 1998.
First, I was completely unaware of the guardianship and did not know who to pay royalties to Oil
behalf of Skip. I made many attempts to locate Skip's family, including his mother, and no one,
including attorneys, has been willing to give me any assistance with information that would
enable me to communicate with them. To this date, I do not know how to do that. Thank you for
providing me with the information that the guardianship is in Santa Clara County. I can't
understand why, when I asked you for this in the past, you said it was privileged information.
Since my 1990 settlement with BMG, I have been trying to get BMG to provide me with
publishing statements so that I could disburse royalties to the artists. I recently sued BMG Cot-
non-payment of producer royalties and, in this lawsuit, I requested publishing statements. In my
complaint, I stated that BMG's unwillingness to provide publishing statements would cause me
problems with the writers. I still have not received publishing statements from BMG to this day
and I am curious as to how you managed to obtain this information.
As a result of the 1990 settlement, I received publishing royalties without a statement and I was
tinable to dispute this figure unless I went forward with the case and prevailed.
Given my lack of knowledge of the guardianship, and my persistent efforts to obtain publishing
statements from BMG I do not feel I am responsible for any interest on outstanding royalties.
Also, I am not happy that their complaint against Rubinson and Clainos involved me and the
legal costs have exceeded $50,000. Going forward to trial de novo will probably result in
another $50,000.
In addition, I put Moby Grape back out on the road in very respectable performances, San Jose
State, Marin County Civic Auditorium, and Moscone Center, at a cost in excess of $40,000 on
each occasion. I cut two albums, one with the group called the Heart Album, and the other with
Bob Mosley called Mosley Grape. I paid them wages of $350 per week, provided them with
hotel accommodations, fed them in the finest of restaurants, paid their airfare and automobile
transportation and informed them that if they continued to perform under my direction, none of
these expenses would be charged back to them, and if they did not continue, these expenses
would be charged against any earnings. Not only have they not helped to promote the sale of
these albums, but to the contrary, they have done everything they can to bad rap me and my
company.
If there is any settlement between us, this behavior must change. They must make statements
to the media that I am not the person responsible for their failures, to the
contrary, I have tried to keep Moby Grape alive and have given them the opportunity to be some
of the players in Moby Grape.
San Francisco Sound will continue to promote music under the name Moby Grape. If I put out
any additional Moby Grape product it will be based on my selection of songs and musicians as
was done on the Heart Album and the Mosley Grape album. I will, as always, value creative
input from anyone involved in the making of the music. I have never stood in the way of any Of
these musicians and I have never suggested that they couldn't say they were in Moby Grape. I
wish them all well. I have gone to listen to the Jerry Miller Blues Band several times and So has
my family and it is always very friendly and I wish Jerry Miller the success he deserves, but I do
not want him going out as Moby Grape unless it is under my direction.
Respectfully
Matthew Katz