For the past year, Neil Young has been touring and recording with a new backing band called Chrome Hearts, a reference to his 1976 Stills-Young band song "Long May You Run." His new album Talkin To The Trees is credited to Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts, and his current tour is billed as the Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts Love Earth World Tour. As far as cool nomenclature goes, it ain't exactly Crazy Horse, but it'll do. There's just one problem: There was already a luxury fashion brand called Chrome Hearts, and they aren't thrilled about Young's choice of band name.
Now the fashion brand Chrome Hearts, which is based in Los Angeles and has been operating under that name since 1988, has sued Young in federal court, Billboard reports. "Defendants' continued use of the confusingly similar [Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts] name in commerce violates Chrome Hearts' valuable intellectual property rights," reads the lawsuit. "Defendants have intentionally and knowingly capitalized off of confusion between the Chrome Hearts [trademarks] and the NYTCH name."
The lawsuit points to confusion arising from Young's band name, with consumers potentially believing that Young has launched a collaboration with the brand, as rock stars are wont to do. "The likelihood of confusion is not merely hypothetical," Chrome Hearts' lawsuit asserts. "Some clothing and apparel vendors have apparently already mistakenly assumed that there is a connection between NYTCH and Chrome Hearts, and are actively promoting [it.]" As Billboard explains, trademark law allows for two companies operating in different industries to use the same name, such as Delta Airlines and Delta Faucets. But given the amount of band merch Young is surely selling with the Chrome Hearts name on it, the brand may have a case. Presumably Young's lawyers will try to argue that the fashion brand was named after his lyric?
In other Young news, he's scheduled to play the 40th anniversary Farm Aid concert eight days from now at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis alongside Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews Band, Margo Price, and more. But as the Star Tribune reports, the concert may need to be moved to a different venue due to a Teamsters strike at the University of Minnesota that would prevent the stage from being constructed on time. "Our artists, production team and partners have made clear that they will not cross a picket line," Farm Aid said in a statement Thursday. "These decisions reflect our own values: The farm and labor movements are inseparable, and we believe strongly that the University must return to the bargaining table in good faith."
Lastly, the Neil Young reissue industrial complex is still churning out new pressings of old records. This week his Official Reissue Series announced reissues of four 1990s releases: 1992's Harvest Moon, 1993's Unplugged, 1994's Sleeps With Angels, and 1995's Mirror Ball, the one he recorded with Pearl Jam as his backing band. These will be billed as ORS Vol 6: Discs 26, 27, 28, and 29. You can get full details and pre-order the sets at Young's official webstore and Neil Young Archives.
