Legal Issues

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When the Calling was formed by the label, the executives pushed the image of a five member rock band; however, lead members Band and Kamin have stated that the band have "always been a two-man group at its core since its foundation, with the other members hired as session and touring musicians."

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In November 2003, Wood and Mohler, former members of the Calling, filed a lawsuit against Band, Kamin, and the group's management. They accused them of mismanagement, fraud, and demanded an audit of the funds used during their time in the band. Wood and Mohler alleged that they were promised a portion of the royalties and profits from touring and merchandise. Band and Kamin disputed their right to access any royalty records. Kamin called the suit “totally without merit” and says it was “settled very quickly” with him, Band and their managers. Band and Kamin claimed that the two were not entitled to any records of the royalties.

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According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, when the Calling was reformed in 2013, whereas Kamin was excluded, lead singer Alex Band filed a lawsuit against Kamin, claiming that he has “essentially disappeared from the public eye” and that any trademark rights over the band that Kamin held have "effectively been abandoned".

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The complaint was that Kamin would "simply refused to support the Calling on tour" when promoting Camino Palmero. The lawsuit also stated that "Kamin prioritized his work on projects with other artists, refused to devote himself to writing and recording with the Calling, and fought Band’s decisions on every aspect of the album."

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Kamin disputed the allegations, responding "I don’t know why I was supposed to give him the rights to something that was a representation of our collective talent. I’m sure I could find you proof of all the tours that I was out and about on."

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The lawsuits between Band and Kamin have strained the relationship, but despite this, Kamin says he "couldn’t say no" to rejoining the Calling if asked.

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The text above was entirely taken from the: wikipedia page about The Calling.

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The Calling's and Alex Band's Legal Issues info. extracted from Billboard website:

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• Alex Band was the founder of The Calling.

• Aaron Kamin worked with Alex in the band.

• They both hired other touring musicians to work with in the band.
   

• Both fought hardly to call their label's attention and have more support.

• However, they noticed, their approaches to that were different and clashing.

• Alex wanted "to do whatever it took to keep the song rolling", but Aaron was skeptical.
   

• Alex "had his own frustrations, too". He said: “Nothing that was done when The Calling first came out, in the sense of publicity and promotion, was what I wanted. As much as TRL was awesome — and we were so welcomed there — it made us kind of look like a boy band.”
   

• The Calling’s rather confusing structure has turned out to be one of their biggest pitfalls. Both Band and Kamin insist that The Calling has always been a two-man group at its core since its foundation, with the other members hired as session and touring musicians.". 
   

• In 2003, Kamin, Band and their management company were sued by Billy Mohler and Nate Wood (musicians hired to make part of The Calling). They "claimed ​they were owed money from their tenure and cited fraud and mismanagement. (Kamin calls the suit “totally without merit” and says it was “settled very quickly” with him, Band and their managers; Mohler and Wood could not be reached for comment on the matter). Between the lawsuit and Band and Kamin’s own conflicts, tensions were running high by the time The Calling released their sophomore album, Two, in 2004."
   

• Although The Calling had international success with both albums (Camino Palmero and Two), "it wasn’t enough for RCA to keep pushing. Band says then-RCA CEO Clive Davis didn’t want The Calling to start on another album because of the confusion surrounding the group’s members, but also didn’t want him to make a solo project." Because of that, Alex talked to Kamin and started pursuing a solo career.
   

• Kamin said: “I remember he called me to his house to say, "I think it’s time I work on a solo record. I want to come back to The Calling, and once I do this, maybe it’ll be good for our future. [He] pretty much [said] I’ll call you when I’m done." And I never heard back.”
   

• Band experienced his own label and legal struggles with his solo material, eventually teaming up with EMI to release his debut full-length album in 2010.
   

• But just as things were starting to look up, Band was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
   

• Regaining his strength enough to play shows by August 2013, tragedy struck again when Band was kidnapped and nearly beaten to death following a show in Lapeer, Mich. Band’s injuries required jaw bone reconstruction and three implants. “It was honestly just a f–king nightmare,” he says.
   

• Band had played the Michigan show as The Calling, despite Kamin’s absence. Two months later, Band sued Kamin for just that: according to The Hollywood Reporter, the complaint stated that Kamin “essentially disappeared from the public eye,” and in turn the guitarist effectively abandoned any trademark rights over The Calling name. The complaint also stated that Kamin “simply refused to support The Calling on tour,” withdrew from the group, and was replaced by another guitarist. Kamin still maintains today that the portrayal of his abandonment is inaccurate: “I’m sure I could find you proof of all the tours that I was out and about on.” Kamin says that the lawsuit was the first time he’d heard from Band since 2008, when Band was still pursuing his solo career. While he says his “heart sank” upon being sued, he started fighting it. “I don’t know why I was supposed to give him the rights to something that was a representation of our collective talent,” he  says. 

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• Though that case was dismissed before it reached a judge, the same issue arose a few years later when Kamin heard about a Calling reunion show from a relative. After he sent letters to Band to halt the use of the name without creating another lawsuit, Kamin says he had no choice but to sue Band.  “It’s not cool to the fans. It’s not cool to me. It’s not cool to the legacy. And, I guess, under the law, it’s not cool to be doing what [he’s] doing,” Kamin says.
   

• “It all felt very awkward and strange,” Kamin continues. “I don’t know that Joe Perry can grab another singer and just call himself Aerosmith, you know? He could be Alex Band — I think he could even be ‘Alex Band formerly of The Calling. But if he wants to be The Calling, I guess, [he could] give me a ring and let’s see what we could do.” The two had another mediation but never saw a judge. 
   

• Band’s argument is that Kamin has no ownership of The Calling name, as the original contract they signed listed them as their original name, Next Door. “We have no partnership agreement, we never did,” he asserts. (There is a listing on the Trademark Electronic Search System on the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s website, which lists both Kamin and Band’s names as owners. The status is “dead,” but Kamin says “When the name is continually being used in commerce — Spotify, Licensing, etc — the mark remains viable. Our last mediation settlement centered around this fact, and admonition that Alex or I could only have a limited use of the name without the other’s permission.”).
   

• “Aaron and I have different viewpoints on what happened between us,” Band says. “We are not going to agree, and there’s no reason to keep dragging that out publicly. What’s done is done.” He adds, “What matters now for me is continuing forward making my music, celebrating the legacy that was started as The Calling, and creating new, meaningful songs for my fans.”
   

• With no settlement from either mediation, Band is moving forward with his plans to revive The Calling. 

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Despite the drama, both Band and Kamin have fond memories of The Calling’s heyday. They experienced Beatlemania-like chaos in countries like Brazil and the U.K.; beat out Shakira, Avril Lavigne, and The Strokes for best new artist at the 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards; and hung out with the likes of Bon Jovi, Christina Aguilera, and Michael Jackson. “It’s crazy to think we were part of that,” Kamin says. “Plenty of it sucked, but plenty of it was an absolute blessing.” 

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Band acknowledges that Kamin was an “absolutely vital” part of The Calling in the beginning (“there would be no ‘Wherever You Will Go’ without him,” he declares) and says he wishes there could be peace between them. In Kamin’s eyes, there’s one simple way to make that happen: “Just go do what you’ve gotta do, and if you want The Calling, then you know who you have to call.” 

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If Band did make that call, Kamin says he “couldn’t say no” to rejoining The Calling. “I would love the opportunity to share it with either people in my life that never got to be there with me on that trip, or people that were there who didn’t think it would ever go away,” he says. 

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“But I would say that the way things have gone in the past many years, it feels like there would be some healing required, or at least agree to disagree,” Kamin adds. “Let’s find a middle ground, because time is ticking for everybody. If we did have a last hurrah, we probably should do it sooner rather than later.” 

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The text above was entirely taken from the: Billboard website

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