During a 2024 appearance on SiriusXM’s Howard Stern Show, Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron revealed that as a teenager he received a cease and desist letter from one of his musical idols: KISS.
At the time, 13-year-old Cameron was in a KISS cover band with some of his friends, and were lucky enough to get the chance to meet Paul Stanley at the San Diego Sports Arena in 1975.
As Cameron explained in 2024, upon meeting Stanley, they showed the singer and guitarist a photo of themselves dressed as KISS: “We took this photo album to meet KISS frontman Paul Stanley. We got a photo with him. And so, we were sort of, like, ‘Hey man, we’re in a KISS cover band. Here’s our stupid little photo album.'”
Unfortunately for Cameron and his friends, meeting their hero led to some legal troubles.
“Cut to, like, I don’t know, four to six months later, we get a cease-and-desist letter from KISS’ then-management company Aucoin Management,” Cameron said. “We were big KISS fans. So, KISS used to put the logo from Aucoin Management on their albums, so we were all excited when we got the letter. ‘Whoa, we’re getting a letter from Aucoin Management. We’ve made it.’ And it was a cease-and-desist from KISS.”
Now, it seems as though KISS has officially pardoned Cameron, with him revealing on Instagram that he has been “forgiven” by his rock heroes.
Last week, the drummer shared that he received a letter dated May 2nd from Roman Fernandez of Aucoin Globe Entertainment, cleaning him of the infraction.
“With all the powers (not) granted to me, I hereby officially declare the cease and desist letter from Aucoin Management null and void — though maybe double-check with Doc just in case,” the letter read, in part.
Along with a photo of the letter, a Bill Aucoin t-shirt, and an Aucoin Management business card, Cameron wrote in the caption: “CASE CLOSED. Thank you so much Roman Fernandez for this incredibly thoughtful gift.”
