Lies! All Lies!

Local musician and studio owner John Vanderslice posted a cease-and-desist letter on his Web site recently. On the site, the former MK Ultra frontman claims his authorship of a song called "Bill Gates Must Die" elicited a letter from Microsoft stating his "use of Microsoft trademarks and logos" violates federal copyright law. Vanderslice also notes on the site that "My NT server has been crashing daily, and my five phone lines have either been tapped or disrupted. I've been recording the mysterious calls I get from the 425 area code (Redmond, WA)."

Here at Riff Raff, we call it a crock.

Well, Mr. Vanderslice? "It was a prank," he confesses. He says he came up with the idea with Josh Bloom of Fanatic Promotion, a PR firm of which he's a client, and that the "Bill Gates" single was sent to radio stations around the country with a note about the false cease-and-desist order to elicit interest. CDNow's news section, All Star, has already swallowed the bait, writing up the story as "Seattle [sic] Indie Rocker Ruffles Microsoft's Feathers." Vanderslice also notes that Entertainment Weekly and New York Magazine have been requesting quotes. Not that we believe him or anything.