So remember when we let you guys listen to some (allegedly, ha) new Guns N’ Roses songs we got our hands on? Well… Either way, the FBI sure does. They’ve been investigating, collecting information, and talking to me about that event ever since. More and more each day, it looks like I may be indicted. Pardon the self-indulgent post, and I may just be tripping, but just in case… If there are any lawyers out there horny for some high-profile copyright law battle, drop us a line.
About Skwerl
Kevin "Skwerl" Cogill was taught his first computer programming language by his Mother's marijuana dealer at age ten. His first job involved hustling TicketMaster lines on behalf of a New Jersey concert ticket broker at age fourteen, followed by a job in graphic design shortly after graduating high school and trade school simultaneously in 1998. He built his first website in 1996 or so, and continues to do things the way they should be done, rather than the way everyone else does. He's a bit of an asshole, but he's fiercely loyal to his friends, and to fellow fans of good music.Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, Skwerl now resides in Los Angeles, California, under the supervision of the United States Federal Pretrial Services Department. His attorney, David J.P. Kaloyanides, shall be shit-talking on his behalf this month.
He's no fan of Obama's, nor McCain's, but he's got $200 riding on the latter.
Read all articles by Skwerl
August 25th, 2008 at 1:17 PM
Have the “Fibbies” nothing better to do these days? Jesus Christ! What a fucking waste of taxpayer dollars!!!
August 25th, 2008 at 3:10 PM
good luck man
August 26th, 2008 at 9:10 AM
I’ll come visit you in jail.
August 26th, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Man, that blows. I’ll never forget you.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:45 PM
haha… i’m not dead, relax.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:43 AM
im sure most of gnr fans are with you!
we’ve got your back!
August 27th, 2008 at 10:56 AM
he got arrested today, just in. gnr fans will now all download the album as a protest, that was a dumb move gnr…
August 27th, 2008 at 11:34 AM
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-gunsnroses28-2008aug28,0,6914718.story
August 27th, 2008 at 1:10 PM
[...] few days ago, the blogger posted a bleg for legal representation. Today, the feds made an example of him: Federal authorities say they have arrested a blogger [...]
August 27th, 2008 at 1:16 PM
No I don’t fault the FBI, I fault the Communist Democrats. I do agree that the FBI could be doing better things with their time. Like as L.A. Mayoral Candidate Walter Moore has pointed out, nearly 930,000 possible illegal aliens are in the City of L.A. I think that is more important than some 27 years old kid experimenting with the Internet. Hollywood to include Kanye West and all the Bush haters are supporting that Communist Obama. Pretty soon we will have FBI agents raiding our homes for talking about the Obama’s connection to the domestic terrorist Bill Ayers. The FBI is merely enforcing the law, Guns and Roses needs to speak out against the arrest. Hollywood and the Communist (Democratic) Party has never represented America. It have always been about a few at the top. That is why nearly 1 Million illegals are running free throughout L.A. County killing Americans and destroying California’s economy.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:14 PM
Good Luck to you. May you find a good lawyer to defend you. This is really the least that the FBI should worry about. I think a lot of people are doing this kind of thing but maybe you just had a bad luck … and a good one for your blog since it is gaining popularity because all news are posting your URL.
August 27th, 2008 at 7:31 PM
Someone put a fork in Steve, he’s done.
For the next 4 months at least it’s a Republican FBI under a Republican controlled director.
That aside the FBI is operating under a complaint from an injured party meaning Rose, GNR it’s publisher or agents.
Theft is theft though and knowing this stuff wasn’t for public consumption, not putting it up in just snippets for “proof” and discussion was criminally stupid.
I hope you get some good advise and representation, these guys can be real a@@holes.
August 27th, 2008 at 7:46 PM
Good Luck
Ze
August 27th, 2008 at 7:50 PM
im glad you had to take them off, i mean, the album has taken over ten years to make and even though i dont like axl to much to do that is an ass hole thing to do, do you really want to go down in rock and roll history as the man who leaked one of the most highly anticipated rock albums before it came out? i think thats very uncool. gnr is one of my fav bands and though i lost a lot of respect for axl after slash and duff quit its still gnr
August 27th, 2008 at 8:00 PM
[...] is currently looking for lawyers and I hope he would find one that would defend him [...]
August 27th, 2008 at 8:38 PM
Maybe if axl wasn’t a fat lazy prick and did some gigs in past 14 years (you know, worked for a living?), instead of opportunistically waiting to release his bullshit album. only a dupe would believe an album, any album, takes 14 years to make. And good on Slash and the rest of the old crew for actually earning and keeping their fans over th years, instead of waiting for some gimmicky length of time to release his music. Is he retarded?
August 27th, 2008 at 9:15 PM
GuRule Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 7:31 PM
Someone put a fork in Steve, he’s done.
For the next 4 months at least it’s a Republican FBI under a Republican controlled director.
Idiot, what does a republican administration have to do with this. Google Hillary Rosen you dumb fuk.
August 28th, 2008 at 1:26 AM
Of course they’re gonna bust your ass… cause you’re a dumb ass! Why did you published those songs in the first place?! Those songs are not YOURS, you fuck. I wonder how would you react if you had enough brain to make your own album.. and then couple of months before the release date someone puts it all online!? Rot in jail, asshole!
August 28th, 2008 at 3:00 AM
Dude you deserve to be roasted on a spit for making material available to the public that was not yours to release. Yes the feds are making an example out of you & I’m glad they are. Boohoo, someone please get me legal help!! You should have thought of that when you posted the stolen material for others to download.
August 28th, 2008 at 3:54 AM
Sure is a lot of RIAA goons on this blog. America is one messed up country, thank fuck I don’t live there. What a shit hole.
August 28th, 2008 at 4:24 AM
Hi,
well sure this was a realy stupid move, to release the album on a blog, and I don’t think that there is a great chance to be released of these allegations, were you also did state the act.
But truely, how can it be that you pay much more for a stream, than for a murder i.e? There are much more things than piracy, and much of them are worse than piracy.
Sure, you have to give it an “exemple”, or it has to be punished, but with “250k $”? I don’t realy know how the salaries are in America, but with such a punishment, the 3 Years in Jail are some sort of a piece of cake, when you have to work half your life for a Publisher…
And I hope that GnR at least gives a statement about this case, and what they think about it, because this isn’t realy a good advertising, not for the publisher, or GnR, if they don’t say at least something about that.
Away from the problem of publishing, they should also see, where the leak was, if it don’t was Skwerl himself…there was already the greatest problem, that it could even be released before the date….Beside that, every Fan of GnR would buy the album, even if it was downloaded….when it is a good album!
August 28th, 2008 at 6:22 AM
[...] sein Blog so gut besucht wurde, dann kann es ja nicht schaden über diesen auch gleich mal einen Anwalt zu suchen. Zwei Tage später wurde er [...]
August 28th, 2008 at 7:29 AM
Well, if you want to hand out music that’s not yours, this is kinda what you should think about before you do it!
No, i’m not another RIAA goon, but an artist who thinks that if someone else was giving out my work it would be a real kick in the nuts, and i’d sure hope that my fans wouldn’t stick up for the bozo who did so.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:58 AM
Lee,
Do programmers get paid every time you run a computer program? Do auto-workers get paid every time you drive your car?
I didn’t think so.
August 28th, 2008 at 10:16 AM
GravyTrain, you must be a complete idiot.
Different products and services have different pricing models. The reason why programmers and auto workers don’t get paid every time you use their products is because they are simply employees that are hired to work by larger companies. Larger companies don’t get paid every time you use their software programs or drive their cars because the value you derive is baked into the single lump-sum cost of using their product.
Posting GnR songs online for broad distribution is just like posting a free copy of MS Office or some PC video game. Don’t get me wrong - many people participate in some form of music piracy. Most are just smart enough not to blow whistles and wave their arms wildly when they’re committing the crime.
In the end, I’m sure the Feds are going to prosecute this blogger to the full extent as it won’t be too difficult to show how he/she profited from the distribution of the songs via their blog.
August 28th, 2008 at 10:40 AM
What are you people Stupid or What?
What the heck did you guys think the FBI was going to do?
If you cant do the time Don’t do the Crime.
Was it worth it??????????????
August 28th, 2008 at 11:04 AM
u are in our hearts’
August 28th, 2008 at 11:22 AM
I’m not a lawyer, but do you need a character witness?
August 28th, 2008 at 12:01 PM
I’m not a lawyer but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn last night.
Good Luck…. Dumb Ass….
August 28th, 2008 at 1:04 PM
[...] upcoming album “Chinese Democracy,” ended up on the website Antiquiet, which drew the attention of the feds. The site received so much traffic that it crashed. Did you know that Alfie loves you? Share and [...]
August 28th, 2008 at 1:15 PM
damn…thinkin you might be in a world of shit…not sure why some folks think anyone from gnr should comment/support you though…they owe you nothing…and while i’m not one of their fan base…the naysayers sound smallminded when they rip axl for taking time off…who the FUCK would work if they didnt have to…he’s laffin to the bank…whether you like him or not…
August 28th, 2008 at 2:38 PM
DAMN DUDE, you are in deep shit…..
night, night , and keep your butthole tight!
btw, the internet should be free of any laws
August 28th, 2008 at 4:50 PM
Sorry to say, but didnt you ever think about, that what you do is wrong and chargeable?
It is known that industry is very sensitive to copyright crimes. I hope that your punishment will not be too hard, but also I hope that you´ve learned your lesson.
August 28th, 2008 at 5:53 PM
lol@skwerl
August 28th, 2008 at 11:51 PM
[...] Secondo me il fan che ha pubblicato i brani non corre i rischi di Kevin Cogill, che ha sbattuto in anteprima sul suo blog Antiquiet la pre-release del nuovo album dei Guns N’Roses intitolato Chinese Democracy (in preparazione da almeno una dozzina d’anni). Molti credono che si tratti di un’iniziativa di marketing, per pompare l’uscita del loro nuovo lavoro, forse opportuna dopo il lungo silenzio della band. Ma Skwerl (questo è il nickname con cui Cogill si presenta sul proprio blog) sembra preoccupato delle conseguenze del proprio gesto (rischia la reclusione e una multina che puà arrivare a 250mila dollari) ed è in cerca di un difensore. [...]
August 28th, 2008 at 11:58 PM
[...] Credo che il fan che ha pubblicato i brani non corra i rischi di Kevin Cogill, colui che ha sbattuto in anteprima sul suo blog Antiquiet la pre-release del nuovo album dei Guns N’Roses intitolato Chinese Democracy (in preparazione da almeno una dozzina d’anni). Molti credono che si tratti di un’iniziativa di marketing per creare un hype, ossia pompare mediaticamente l’attesa per l’uscita del loro nuovo lavoro, forse opportuna dopo il lungo silenzio della band. Ma Skwerl (questo è il nickname con cui Cogill si presenta sul proprio blog), che fin da subito si è detto pronto ad assumersi le proprie responsabilità, sembra preoccupato delle conseguenze del proprio gesto (rischia la reclusione e una multina che puà arrivare a 250mila dollari) ed è in cerca di un difensore. [...]
August 29th, 2008 at 5:26 PM
it’s quite simple, actually…
copyright = right to copy.
i would think that when the artist has yet to profit from or even exploit his own work as it is still unreleased…this law would be enforced heavily, to the maximum extent possible…while i am impartial to all sides of this scenario, i do believe in our copyright system, as artists do deserve to get paid for their creation, and artists should have the sole “right to copy”.
August 31st, 2008 at 5:10 AM
If you consider the man-hours required to create this album, it’s not cheap. Writing the lyrics, guitar, bass, drum lines. How much time did that take? Then the time it took to perfect them through hours of rehearsal. Look at years of investment each person made in learning to sing, play guitar/bass and drums. Then the time it takes for this to all be produced. Adjusting the levels on each track to get exactly the sound they wanted.
If you had had to pay each person involved in the process just $20/hr it would cost you well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is the equivalence of a warehouse full of computers, or several homes on my street. THis is worth more than the contents of my home.
Would we think the FBI was over-reacting if this Sqwerl guy stole everything from your home? All the stuff you spend years earning.
I don’t agree with making an example out of you, but I do hope you don’t make this mistake again. Sharing a song that’s already been released and the other person wasn’t going to buy anyway, is arguable in it’s cost. But, sharing several songs before they’re even released by the artist is extremely wrong.
August 31st, 2008 at 9:12 AM
Get this guy a good lawyer! He’s innocent until proven guilty, and if anyone is guilty, it’s G&R for talking about this alleged album for over 10 years. I’ve heard of few of the tracks, and they’re garbage. Long live Slash, guitar God!!