No Rock of Love as Gents Try to Creem Each Other
A punch-up in SoHo over a rock mag’s legacy
Different people are saying different things about the showdown that took place at the John Varvatos store in SoHo on the night of Nov. 15. What’s definitely true is that it happened while Mr. Varvatos, the men’s clothing designer, was hosting a book party in honor of Creem, the storied Detroit-based music magazine that launched the careers of legendary rock critics like Dave Marsh and Lester Bangs before folding in 1985.
The party’s guest of honor, and the man who had put the book together, was a photographer named Robert Matheu. A heavyset 52-year-old rocker who only recently sold his Harley Davidson, Mr. Matheu took pictures for Creem on a freelance basis for a number of years during the late 70’s and the 80’s. In 2001, after the magazine was featured prominently in the Cameron Crowe film Almost Famous, he took over the trademark in an attempt to bring the magazine back to life. The book Mr. Matheu has just put out, titled Creem: America’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll Magazine and published in October by HarperCollins, is billed as a retrospective celebrating the Creem legacy, featuring interviews with the original members of the staff and reprints of old articles.
The party at the Varvatos store was in full swing when the fight erupted. Mr. Matheu was signing books when he spotted in the crowd J.J. Kramer, the 31-year-old trademark lawyer and son of Barry Kramer, who founded Creem in 1969 and ran it until his death, in 1981. Mr. Matheu was surprised to see Mr. Kramer at the party, because Mr. Kramer is currently suing Mr. Matheu for control of Creem.
According to one witness, a longtime friend of Mr. Kramer’s named Elizabeth Houlihan, Mr. Matheu shouted “What the fuck are you doing here?” at Mr. Kramer when he saw him. When Mr. Kramer walked over, according to Ms. Houlihan, Mr. Matheu grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him.
“J.J. pushed him back in self-defense,” Ms. Houlihan said. “And then Robert pushed J.J. again, grabbed his face and drew all over it with permanent marker.”
Security was subsequently called and Mr. Kramer was escorted out of the building, Ms. Houlihan said.
According to Mr. Matheu, who is considering filing a police report about the incident, none of this happened. His lawyer, William B. Kerr of the Wall Street firm Kerr and Richards, said Mr. Kramer instigated the confrontation by coming up to the table where Mr. Matheu was signing books and asking, “Are you happy now?”, before grabbing him by the lapels and shaking him. According to Mr. Kerr, who said he was standing next to Mr. Matheu when the confrontation took place, Mr. Matheu threw his hands up to show that he would not fight.
“I think my behavior was flawless,” Mr. Matheu told The Observer. “Had he come into the party and maybe had a different demeanor about him, we were all prepared to simply say, ‘Listen, we have a lawsuit pending, we have nothing to say to you, but feel free to visit with some of your dad’s friends here, as there are probably some people here who would like to meet you.’”
Regardless of what happened at Varvatos that evening—for now it’ll have to remain a Rashòmon story, though you’d think there would be some documentation, considering the number of photographers in attendance—the bad blood between Mr. Kramer and Mr. Matheu is undeniable.
First, some backstory: When Barry Kramer died, his wife Connie tried to keep Creem going for several years—a tall order, since it was already a quarter million dollars in debt and Ms. Kramer didn’t have much experience running a business. Still, she did her best, hoping to keep the thing alive until J.J.—who was six at the time of his father’s death—was old enough to take over.
Eventually it became untenable, and in 1985 Ms. Kramer sold all the intellectual property rights to a businessman named Arnold Levitt. The magazine ceased publication a few years later, and Mr. Levitt presided over several unsuccessful attempts to revive it.
In 2001, after the success of Almost Famous, Mr. Matheu approached Mr. Levitt and told him he wanted to start the magazine up again. The two of them worked out a licensing deal by which Mr. Levitt would hand over all the trademarks and intellectual property rights associated with Creem to Mr. Matheu for a period of five years, during which Mr. Matheu could create a Creem Web site, sell Creem merchandise and possibly work toward a proper relaunch. According to the agreement, Mr. Matheu would have the option of buying Creem from Mr. Levitt outright for $100,000 at the end of the five years.
But after five years, Mr. Matheu did not have enough money to close the deal, and neither did Creem Media Inc., the corporation he had registered after Mr. Levitt granted him the license in 2001. Time was running out on the option to buy, and the pressure was on: Mr. Levitt was saying that he had other offers, and that if Mr. Matheu didn’t move quickly, he’d take the rights back and sell the magazine to someone else.
This is where the story gets murky. According to the lawsuit Mr. Kramer filed last December, Mr. Matheu offered to make him an equal partner in the company if he helped get some money together to buy the license from Mr. Levitt. Mr. Matheu allegedly made the same offer to Chris Carter, a radio D.J. and rock musician from Los Angeles for whom Mr. Matheu had done some photography work over the years. Next Page >
Robert Matheu is a known bullshitter.
Most everyone who ever worked at CREEM hates him.
I wondered who that fat slob with the sunglasses (Matheu) was writing on. I thought it waa a fan who wanted his face signed....I think Lester had a special descriptive word for Robert..referred to him as smegma.
I wondered who that fat slob with the sunglasses (Matheu) was writing on. I thought it waa a fan who wanted his face signed....I think Lester had a special descriptive word for Robert..referred to him as smegma.
I've seen this lawsuit--and it appears there WAS a contract between Matheu and Kramer. I'd say Matheu is f*cked.
agreed. i've seen the papers as well. far from a "handshake agreement" there's a paper trail a mile long. the judge seems to agree, too. his order says kramer & carter have shown a prima facie case that they are majority owners of creem media and enjoined creem media from doing anything w/o their consent. i'd say the scales are definitely tipping well in their favor...
Robert's attorney is soooo impressive. Perhaps he'd like join the Juice's new team. He can swear he was holding the gun for OJ...
I thought Mr. Matheu was inappropriate, but then again, someone made him wear long pants to the party. That skirt underneath probably made him a little irritable.
It isn't just an ownership issue.
The Creem book falsifies the magazine's history; most of the key figures, including me, appear as incidental while a bizarre rewriting favors marginal figures. Jeffrey Morgan, presented as an editor writing a memoir, in fact was a freelancer, who never lived in Michigan or worked in the Creem office.
Matheu skulked around trying to get "Friendly" with me last spring, claiming no ulterior purpose. He never mentioned a book. In the end, never even consulted the people who made the magazine (I suppose, IF he owns the rights, he has the right to do that with work for hire, though it's obviously a dumb move considering who he's dealing with--we're not people who are reluctant to wage a fight to its finish), he didn't clear permissions with freelancers and others whose work Creem owned only on a print and first re-use basis (the first re-use mostly used up long, long ago), the articles are poorly selected...the book is a catastrophe unless you're interested in obliterating the truth. And not only is Matheu remiss, but Harper Collins utter failure to do anything like due diligence is also infuriating. Had they done the least bit of work, all this including the ownership issue would have come clear and what should have happened would have happened: No book by these clowns.
Anyone who has read the briefs of both side would reasonably expect that this is a summary judgment case, not in the current proprietor's favor.
Please do not buy this book. Getting it out of print is the only way to get a good book published. It'll still take years, probably.-- Dave Marsh
None of the real editors of Creem -- the folks you've actually heard of, like Dave Marsh, as opposed to the slackers in this "book" -- will have anything to do with this guy.
Is it any wonder why? Still, he managed to snow Harper-Collins. Looks like anybody with a good line can walk out of there with a contract.
Here's the complaint. Look at Matheu--who wouldn't want to fight him?
http://www.scribd.com/doc/500259/complaint1
This book is a shell, no hearbeat. I am disgusted and infuriated on behalf of Barry. He considered Robert Matheu an annoying groupie at best.
Creem was a product of passion, of literal wrestling matches between David, Lester and Barry, which in the end provided brilliant and humorous representations of the music and times we lived in.
.. that the writers and editors who were most responsible for creating Creem have not been acknowledged speaks to piss poor cut and paste job Matheu stuck together. Don't waste your money...seriously, many of the so called editors he mentions were mostly working in the mail room.
Yeah...Was at the party. Didn't see the fight but let me tell you- you'd be brain dead to consider this party rock n' roll. In fact, Matheau is far from rock n' roll; I'd say he's a cross between Yani and Kenny Rogers. Don't get me wrong; I love Rogers- just not what I'd deem rock n' roll and isn't that what Creem stands for? Guess not with this big fatty taking over. I say good for you, Kramer. Wish I could have met you. You're rock n' roll, man. Best to you and your family.
I was standing right there,did not believe Matheu shoved that guy. Later I found out who the guy was. Who writes on someone's face with a pen..and then DENIES IT? Hey Matheu. MAN UP. OOPS, MIGHT TAKE BALLS TO THAT.
Robert Matheu is a very unfortunate looking person
I think that Robert Matheu should run for the republican nomination and succeed George Bush. Who else would be so qualified to lie to people to hide your real purpose, deceive, change facts to suit your goals while at the same time professing your innocence with a stupid grin on your face? Amazing how someone that claims to have thrown up their hands to say, "I don't want to fight" then somehow drew on another man's face while claiming he was still sitting.
This book is garbage and he should be ashamed to take the soul and history of a magazine that so many people cherish and tarnish the legacy of the Kramer family and Rock n' Roll. How anyone can take money from Mr. Carter and Mr. Kramer, use that money to buy the rights and then pretend like he doesn't even know who Mr. Kramer and Mr. Carter are is flat out despicable.
I have read the lawsuit and seen the court papers. What Mr. Matheu does not understand is that making up a story and hoping people buy it may work on Harper Collins, but a judge with documented evidence is going to laugh in his face. Read the transcript, the judge berates his idiot attorney for having the nerve to even challenge some of his rulings and mocks him openly in court. This was no handshake deal. He flat out lied, took the money and then tried to screw over his partners. I can't wait for the day he loses and his 15 minutes of fame come to a screeching halt.
I would like to call on all fans of rock n' roll, all fans of Creem and everyone who cares about a family legacy to boycott this book, comment about it and expose the truth anywhere this book and Mr. Matheu are mentioned. He should not be allowed to take the heart of Rock and mold it into a lie.
WHERE IS THE LOVE ROBERT? WHERE THE FUCK IS THE LOVE...? AND THAT LAWYER YOU GOT..TEE HEE..YA GET WHAT YA PAY FOR..GET IT?
Having worked at Creem from 1975 until '83, the last five and a half as editor, I thought I knew the staff pretty well. Who knew we had a Canadian editor! Wow...guess we forgot to put him on the payroll. And an editorial assistant who was promoted by the book to "editor," hanging up the phone on Lester Bangs. Oh yeah, that really happened.
Creem was so much more colorful, interesting and literate than this paste-up job would have you think. As Dave has said, you'd never know that he spent four years of his life there. Our founder, Barry Kramer, who launched Creem from the trunk of his car, as a college student -- he's barely in the book. All the color and drama was drained out of Creem's story in order to fluff the resume of some folks who were barely there, if at all.
No social context, just a parallel world Creem, so that some folks with no history of their own could hijack ours.
Matheu is lucky barry kramer wasn't there--otherwise he'd be eating through a straw.
The man is wearing sunglasses indoors at a party? Does anything more need to be said? What a pathetic asshat.
OK, everybody...Google the phrase "Robert Matheu liar" (don't type the quotes), and see what happens.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Robert+Matheu+liar&btnG=Google+Sear...
I feel what this guy who calls himself a man Robert Matheu is nothing more than a little Bobby.
It is a damn shame that this robert guy has taken a rock and roll icon of the late 60's 70's and turned it upside down and ruined the dream of future rockers.
I feel what this guy who calls himself a man Robert Matheu is nothing more than a little Bobby.
It is a damn shame that this robert guy has taken a rock and roll icon of the late 60's 70's and turned it upside down and ruined the dream of future rockers.
I feel what this guy who calls himself a man Robert Matheu is nothing more than a little Bobby.
It is a damn shame that this robert guy has taken a rock and roll icon of the late 60's 70's and turned it upside down and ruined the dream of future rockers.
I feel what this guy who calls himself a man Robert Matheu is nothing more than a little Bobby.
It is a damn shame that this robert guy has taken a rock and roll icon of the late 60's 70's and turned it upside down and ruined the dream of future rockers.
I feel what this guy who calls himself a man Robert Matheu is nothing more than a little Bobby.
It is a damn shame that this robert guy has taken a rock and roll icon of the late 60's 70's and turned it upside down and ruined the dream of future rockers.
I feel what this guy who calls himself a man Robert Matheu is nothing more than a little Bobby.
It is a damn shame that this robert guy has taken a rock and roll icon of the late 60's 70's and turned it upside down and ruined the dream of future rockers.
I was unsure what "Bobby" meant, so I looked it up. It's a Scottish slang term for penis. Now that's funny.
I just came across this article and I was at the party. JJ is a flat out liar who might benefit from serious psycho-therapy. Many people have lost their father or parents at a young age and don't act like this... Robert Matheu was signing books at a table with a long line of people waiting to have their book signed when JJ Kramer cut in front of everyone and started yelling and it was JJ who grabbed Robert. Robert then put up his hands to show he wasn't doing anything. JJ was then forcefully removed from a private event that he was not invited to and I believe that is considered trespassing, right? But poor JJ, ran up the street as fast as he could. I believe this was all pre-meditated, especially from the way he was dressed.
I felt bad for him because a lot of his dad's friends were there and commented at how sad and pathetic it was for him to make such an embarrassment of himself.
After reading this article, I find it interesting that JJ, an attorney, would not follow proper business protocol in documenting a corporate transaction and is crying about a magazine that he has no rights to. There is no entitlement when there is no ownership, regardless of what was promised to you as a young child.
How come this article is solely speaking of Robert Matheu, and not the corporation which owns Creem, Creem Media, Inc.? Creem Media is the primary defendant of this case who owns the IP of Creem, not JJ or some Breakfast with Ringo DJ (aka JJ's partner)... If people were smart and would think for themselves, they would see through the BS- which is JJ and his partner just want to be part of Creem and are pissed that they never will be. I doubt Creem's legacy could ever be carried on by these two people. It seems to me, from everything that I have read, that they blew their chance to be part of Creem!
This case will come down to the fact that either JJ was too inexperienced in business to document and secure his involvement properly, or he purposefully and maliciously did so to twist everything, just like he has done with the events of the party at the JV store. I'm hopeful Creem exposes JJ and his partner for the frauds they are... Much has been questioned of Matheu's involvement with Creem over the years, but the fact remains that his involvement, no matter what it may have been, is much greater than JJ and his partner.
This article is slanted in one direction, which represents poor journalism. Bill Kerr is Creem Media's attorney, not Robert Matheu's personal attorney, and he is representing the corporation who Robert Matheu is an officer of... Poor research!
I just came across this article and I was at the party. JJ is a flat out liar who might benefit from serious psycho-therapy. Many people have lost their father or parents at a young age and don't act like this... Robert Matheu was signing books at a table with a long line of people waiting to have their book signed when JJ Kramer cut in front of everyone and started yelling and it was JJ who grabbed Robert. Robert then put up his hands to show he wasn't doing anything. JJ was then forcefully removed from a private event that he was not invited to and I believe that is considered trespassing, right? But poor JJ, ran up the street as fast as he could. I believe this was all pre-meditated, especially from the way he was dressed.
I felt bad for him because a lot of his dad's friends were there and commented at how sad and pathetic it was for him to make such an embarrassment of himself.
After reading this article, I find it interesting that JJ, an attorney, would not follow proper business protocol in documenting a corporate transaction and is crying about a magazine that he has no rights to. There is no entitlement when there is no ownership, regardless of what was promised to you as a young child.
How come this article is solely speaking of Robert Matheu, and not the corporation which owns Creem, Creem Media, Inc.? Creem Media is the primary defendant of this case who owns the IP of Creem, not JJ or some Breakfast with Ringo DJ (aka JJ's partner)... If people were smart and would think for themselves, they would see through the BS- which is JJ and his partner just want to be part of Creem and are pissed that they never will be. I doubt Creem's legacy could ever be carried on by these two people. It seems to me, from everything that I have read, that they blew their chance to be part of Creem!
This case will come down to the fact that either JJ was too inexperienced in business to document and secure his involvement properly, or he purposefully and maliciously did so to twist everything, just like he has done with the events of the party at the JV store. I'm hopeful Creem exposes JJ and his partner for the frauds they are... Much has been questioned of Matheu's involvement with Creem over the years, but the fact remains that his involvement, no matter what it may have been, is much greater than JJ and his partner.
This article is slanted in one direction, which represents poor journalism. Bill Kerr is Creem Media's attorney, not Robert Matheu's personal attorney, and he is representing the corporation who Robert Matheu is an officer of... Poor research!
I believe Ms. Kramer and the true creators of Creem have told us all we need to know about this faux hack-job. There is a reason this fuck has either deceived or ignored everyone with a tie to the magazine - he cares not about rock n' roll, but only for making a quick buck. Well karma is a bitch and the joyride will be brief. Kudos on stealing 20K from Carter and Kramer and congrats on deceiving Harper Collins. Creem's audience knows the difference between good journalism and this coloring book. I can't make out the thought bubble coming from Boy Howdy in the photo above, but I'm pretty sure it says "Get your dirty hands off me douchebag."