Neil Young may soon be forced to give up the name of his new formation, the Chrome Hearts, with whom he has just released the debut album “Talking to the Trees”. To bring it to court is the fashion house Losangelina Chrome Hearts, which accuses the musician of having chosen the same name as his brand for the group.
The complaint was filed on Thursday 11 September at a Federal Court of California. The company's lawyers claim the ownership of the “Chrome Hearts®” brand and its graphic variants, recorded since 1991, claiming that Young and his companions are unduly exploiting that name for merchandising and promotional activities related to the band.
The legal document underlines that already last July the company had warned the Young team of the alleged violation, but the Chrome Hearts continued the tour and the sale of branded products “Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts”. Now, with the cause, the brand asks that the artist and the band will immediately cease to use that name.
On 27 August Neil Young rose to the Chicago stage together with his new band, the Chrome Hearts. During the concert he presented a preview “Big Crime”, an unpublished that targets President Donald Trump. Immediately after the execution, the Canadian artist published the audio of the performanceaccompanied by the text of the song: “Don't need no Fascist Rules/ Don't Want No Fascist Schools/ There's Big Crime in DC at the White House” (“We don't need fascist rules/ we don't want fascist schools/ there is a great crime in Washington DC, in the White House”).
Listen below “Big Crime”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQL4JKFVBKG
The piece was born as a response to the recent deployment of the National Guard and the Agents of the Ice in Washington, a measure announced by Trump at the beginning of the month with the aim of strengthening control over crime. According to what reported by The Hill, almost 1,200 people would have already been arrested from the entry into force of the provision. Naturalized US citizen in 2020, Young – originally from Canada – has repeatedly expressed his opposition to Trump and his policies, also confirming his role of critical voice with “Big Crime”.
Neil Young had also expressed the fear of being stopped at the border on his return to the United States after the European tour. “If during my concerts in Europe I speak badly of Trump, the risk of being among those who, upon returning to America, are stopped or forced to sleep on a concrete slab with only an aluminum blanket,” said the Canadian singer -songwriter, who recently had also presented a song against Elon Musk, entitled “Let's Roll Again”. The song is together an exhortation to build ecological cars and an invective against the patron of the Tesla, with the verses that have become famous that echo the melody of “This Land is your land” by Woody Guthrie: “If you're a fascist, then get a Tesla/ If It's Electric/ It Doesn'T Matter/ If You's A Democrat, then taste Your Freedom/ Get Whatever You want, and Taste Your Freedom “(” If you are a fascist, then take a Tesla/ If it is electric/ it doesn't matter/ if you are a democrat, you savor your freedom/ take what you want, and savor your freedom “). In the passage, the Canadian singer -songwriter invites the American car industry to “protect our children” by producing electric vehicles at a rhythm that can compete with that of China, which is “much later – they build clean cars” (“it is hard to send down!”, He adds).
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
