Case 2:15-cv-03462-RGK-AGR Document 154-7 Filed 03/30/16 Page 1 of 7 Page ID

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Francis Malofiy, Esq.

Francis Alexander, LLC
280 N. Providence Rd. | Suite 105
Media, PA 19063
T: (215) 500-1000; F: (215) 500-1005
E: francis@francisalexander.com
Attorney for Plaintiff
Glen L. Kulik, Esq. (SBN 082170)
Kulik Gottesman & Siegel LLP
15303 Ventura Blvd., Suite 1400
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
T: (310) 557-9200; F: (310) 557-0224
E: gkulik@kgslaw.com
Attorney for Plaintiff

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MICHAEL SKIDMORE, as Trustee for

the RANDY CRAIG WOLFE TRUST,
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v.

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Hon. R. Gary Klausner

Plaintiff,

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Case No. 15-cv-03462 RGK (AGRx)

LED ZEPPELIN; JAMES PATRICK

PAGE; ROBERT ANTHONY PLANT;
JOHN PAUL JONES; SUPER HYPE
PUBLISHING, INC.; WARNER MUSIC
GROUP CORP., Parent of
WARNER/CHAPPELL MUSIC, INC.;
ATLANTIC RECORDING
CORPORATION; RHINO
ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY,

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DECLARATION OF MICHAEL
SKIDMORE IN OPPOSITION TO
DEFENDANTS MOTION FOR
SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN
THE ALTERNATIVE, PARTIAL
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Date: March 28, 2016
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Room:

Defendants.

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DECLARATION OF MICHAEL SKIDMORE IN OPPOSITION TO

DEFENDANTS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

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DECLARATION OF MICHAEL SKIDMORE

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I, Michael Skidmore, declare as follows:

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1.

Since becoming the Trustee of Randy California ne Wolfes Trust in mid

2009 after co-trustee Bernice Pearl passed away, I have been diligent in my fiduciary

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responsibilities and also in my music responsibilities. To date I have produced and released 12
collections of mostly unreleased Spirit material (28 discs in total) released on labels in the US

and England and available in many countries around the world. In addition I assisted with 3

other releases by the band, two on major labels.

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2.

As a teenager growing in England I avidly read music publications such as

Zig Zag, Melody Maker and New Music Express. Oftentimes reading statements by famous

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musicians turned me on to a particular band. I remember reading quotes by people like Al
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Kooper, Phil Manzanera, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page about the prowess of

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Spirit. After buying some sampler albums on CBS I purchased all of Spirit albums based on the

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one or two Spirit songs I heard on those samplers, and I was totally taken by the originality and

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complexity of the music of Spirit and the eclectic and original guitar style of Randy California.

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I eventually saw them on a 1973 (I would see them many times over the next decades) tour

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where they headlined Londons premier rock venue the Rainbow Theatre where they got a

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record setting seven encores. Their popularity in the UK and throughout Europe was immense.
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By the next time I saw them they again headlined at the Rainbow Theater in March 1978

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headlining over the Police just days after being on the German national TV show Rockpalast

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playing a two hour concert headlining over Dickey Betts from the Allman Brothers which was

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broadcast to millions throughout a slew of European countries and later released on a DVD and

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CD.

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3.

By this time (late 70s) I was a fledging music journalist and began writing

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DECLARATION OF MICHAEL SKIDMORE IN OPPOSITION TO
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about Spirit in magazines in England, Italy, Germany and the USA. This was something I

would do for the next 35 years, especially after moving to the US in 1982.

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4.

Spirit and Randy Californias music has been widely available throughout

the world for over four decades (as early as 1968) and most of their classic albums have

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remained in print almost the entire time, a clear testament to their popularity. Their lowest
charting album of the original four went gold in 1975 and that has sold close to a million copies

and it and the others still sell today. Spirit was very popular in many states in the US, such as

Texas, Michigan, Seattle, Florida, California, New York and many more.

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5.

Since being Trustee I now truly see just how far reaching their music is by

looking at the Statements from Sony, BMI and ACSAP. With sales and airplay from almost

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every European country of pretty much most of the songs on their first four albums from 1968
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to 1970 (Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Russia, Poland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France,

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Greece, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland and more) as

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well as Israel, South Africa, Australia, Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and many

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other places.

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6.

Spirit were hardly unsuccessful but I always felt they should have been as

commercially successful as their contemporaries such as the Doors and the Byrds, and a lot of

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my journalistic efforts which included writing for major magazines and newspapers (Boston
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Globe, Relix, Crawdaddy, Goldmine, The Patriot Ledger) were aimed at trying to get them the

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credit I felt they justly deserved. In Relix Magazine (a national US magazine) I wrote columns

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on unknown or underrated bands and helped break many artists. I wrote the first national article

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on the band Phish before they had a record contract. Of course, they went on to become huge.

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My feeling was I wanted to do this for Spirit. They were true musical innovators and interesting
on multiple levels and in my opinion better than anyone else Id ever heard. California in

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particular was an incredibly talented and underrated guitar player, adept at playing all sorts of

styles from jazz to bluegrass and from rock to folk. A testament to this was his playing with

Jimi Hendrix when he was only 15.

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Eventually over the years I would get to know Randy and a number of

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members of his family, as well as all the members of Spirit. I began helping Randys mother in
musical matters shortly after Randy died in 1997 and that role eventually expanded more to
becoming a co-trustee.

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8.

From my personal experiences and what Randy had told and expressed to

me, he felt aggrieved by the way he had been treated by the music business, feeling his naivety
let them get the better of him, although he understood this was the way the business world

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worked and a lesson learned the hard way. But he was much more upset at getting treated badly
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by fellow musicians who he felt should have been kindred spirits. It irked him to no end that he

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never got acknowledgement by Led Zeppelin for the use of portions of Taurus for their song

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Stairway To Heaven, not even a thank you or a nod of appreciation. This is something that

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has been written about in the press for a number of decades now. I know he attempted to

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address this issue a number of times over the years, but never managed to achieve any success

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mostly from what I understood and what he told was due to the statute of limitations and the

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financial difficulty. He shared with me that he thought that Led Zeppelin would do the right
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thing and give him the credit and compensation he deserved but they didnt even after he

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confronted them. He said that although the press and public asked him about this, he got tired of

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grinding his teeth about a situation he couldnt do much about it given the legal landscape, so

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publicly he didnt make as much noise about it, but privately he expressed to me it is something

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that deeply bothered him.

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9.

As I stated since becoming the Trustee I have taken my responsibilities

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seriously ensuring that funds generated from album sales and royalties go to provide children in

public schools in Ventura, California and Quincy, Massachusetts with musical instruments and

education in Randys name.

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When I heard of the Petralla vs. Metro Meyer Goldwyn case in May of

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2014 that allowed for a plaintiff to still file suit for damages many years later I felt it was my
fiduciary responsibility to try and rectify this injustice to a musician and person that I admire

greatly. Randy Californias story, which is the heart of the Spirit story, runs the gamut from sad

to euphoric and from glorious accomplishments to unfulfilled potential. Although his life was

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taken prematurely, his spirit lives on in his music. I believe its only fair that he be
acknowledged for what he accomplished and while I may never make them the mega stars I

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hoped I could, if life were fair he would be acknowledged for his contribution to one of the
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most iconic rock songs ever. It matters not to me whether Taurus was intentionally copied or

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whether it was a subconscious influence the reality is the underlying basis for Stairway to

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Heaven is clearly based on Taurus and Id like it to be acknowledged.

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In the later years of Randys life he did a lot of local charity work in Ojai

where he lived especially for kids and I feel privileged that I am able to continue those efforts
by distributing funds from his musical income to children in the public school systems and I

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hope to continue to do this.
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I also note that I purchased a number of original tapes from Barry Hansen. I

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reference his Declaration by reference. This include the recordings of Spirit and Taurus and

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other places in the early years (1967-1971). It should be noted that Barry Hansen maintained

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these tapes. I have confirmed that the dates and times and songs listed are accurate according to

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the tapes. I have also verified this by listening to them, asking Barry, and member of Spirit. The
Taurus performances listed on the Skidmore 468 exhibit attached to Barry Hansens Declaration

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is an accurate email between me and Barry and is where I received the early recordings of

Taurus which occurred before the Lou Adler contracts of August 29, 1967. They were not work

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for hire. Furthermore Randy wrote Taurus in 1966. See audio exhibits of these Taurus
performances referenced in the Audio Exhibits 33-39.

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I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the

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Executed this 7th day of March, 2016, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

foregoing is true and correct.

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/s/ Michael Skidmore

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Michael Skidmore

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DECLARATION OF MICHAEL SKIDMORE IN OPPOSITION TO
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