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ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA: THE BAND

Rock Star Supernova was a reality television-formed supergroup consisting of drummer Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe), bass player Jason Newsted (Voivod and ex-Metallica), guitarist Gilby Clarke (ex-Guns N' Roses), and singer Lukas Rossi
Lee and Clarke performed together in an all-star KISS tribute band at the inaugural "VH1 Rock Honors" event on May 25, 2006 in Las Vegas.

 
     
                 
   

NAME CONTROVERSY

The band was originally formed as "Supernova", but the legality of the use of that name was called into question by another band of the same name: Supernova, a pop punk trio from California founded in 1989 and best known for a song contributed to the soundtrack of the 1994 film Clerks. On June 26, 2006, the latter band filed a federal lawsuit against Mark Burnett Productions, Rockstar Entertainment, CBS, Tommy Lee, Jason Newsted, and Gilby Clarke. The California band is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages, as well as trademark protection of the "Supernova" name, the destruction of all Rock Star materials bearing the name "Supernova", and clarifying statements made on the show. One of their primary pieces of evidence is a message from Butch Walker on the social networking website MySpace, in which he notes that the defendants had been informed of the existence of a prior band of the same name, but decided to proceed anyway.
Lee, Newsted, and Clarke were dropped as defendants in late August at the request of the original Supernova's lawyers.
On September 12, 2006, San Diego Judge John Houston ruled in favor of the original Supernova, granting their request for a preliminary injunction. The injunction keeps the producers of "Rock Star: Supernova" — which concluded September 13 as a television show, but will continue as a recording, touring, and merchandise entity for some time to follow — from "performing rock and roll music, or recording, or selling rock and roll music recordings under the same [name], pending a trial of this action on its merits, or until otherwise ordered by the court."
The decision bars the CBS-created rockers from touring, recording and selling merchandise as "Supernova" once the order takes effect. First, the original Supernova must post bond, the amount of which has yet to be determined by the court.
Following the litigation, all promotional material generally bore the name "Rock Star Supernova" on it. This was especially evident on the band's MySpace page, which identifies the band as Rock Star Supernova and not Supernova.

 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

On October 23, 2006, Jason Newsted was injured while attempting to catch a falling bass amp head. The accident resulted in a torn anterior labrum in his left shoulder and a rotator cuff and biceps tear in the right. He was scheduled for immediate surgery, and underwent a lengthy rehab process.
While Newsted recovered, former Black Crowes bassist Johnny Colt served as a temporary replacement and was with the band on its national television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live on November 21.
The band went on tour with supporting acts Dilana (the runner-up on Rock Star: Supernova), Juke Kartel (the band of Australian Rock Star: Supernova contestant Toby Rand) and The Panic Channel.
In January 2007 Gilby Clarke released a best of album featuring tracks from all of his solo albums as well as two songs from the Col. Parker project and a re-recording of the song "Black", featuring vocals by Rock Star: Supernova runner-up Dilana.
On April 12, 2007, it was rumoured that Clarke had quit the band. It was subsequently confirmed, though, that he was still part of Rock Star Supernova[4]
In June 2007, Rossi released "The Love and Lust EP", a recording of 4 acoustic tracks. He toured across the USA and Canada during the summer of 2007.
In mid September 2007, Tommy Lee allegedly quit his main band Mötley Crüe because of lawsuits the other members filed against his personal manager. After he quit Mötley Crüe he stated that he will never be in another band again because he enjoys DJing too much. After irate Crüe fans[who?] vented their frustrations on the band's web site, Tommy Lee issued a statement denying that he had left the band, stating that he hoped to work any outstanding issues with the other members of the group.
" I am a founding member of MÖTLEY CRÜE," he said. "Based on internal band issues aired publicly, my future with the band is uncertain. I have tried to meet with my bandmates repeatedly without success but have informed them that I'm not walking away from my band of 25 years. It troubles me that the current legal issues which were filed by the corporations against my personal manager are separating us and causing more dysfunction. I hope we can work this out amongst ourselves."
In April 2008, Rossi did an interview with LiveVideo.com in which he said "all that's not for me so I officially quit." He quit because the band members all started doing their own thing, such as DJing. This upset him, as he went through the audition process for one tour. Although on May 28, 2008 Rock Star Supernova reunited for the television series Battleground Earth. It is currently unknown if they will release another album or tour again in the future.