"Eleven Years"

​

This book has been written in response to a federal copyright infringement lawsuit between Bob Dylan and James Damiano. 

"This court will accept as true plaintiff's allegations that Sony represented to him that he would be credited and compensated if Dylan used his work." …..Judge Jerome B. Simandle

It is common knowledge that the 80’s decade is considered the least productive decade of Bob Dylan’s career. It is also common knowledge that in the 80’s Dylan was experiencing some form of writer's block. 

James Damiano

All lyrics written by James Damiano unless otherwise quoted 

I, James Damiano, accept all responsibility and liability arising from any and all consequences regarding [sic] Bob Dylan’s twenty seven year old federal protective “gag” order. 

James Damiano’s lawsuit was illegally dismissed by Judge Simandle in summary Judgment executing a “fraud upon the court.” 

Rule 56(c) of the federal rules of civil procedure states as follows: 

The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact.

On March 28, 2007 over sixteen years ago the following statement was downloaded from James Damiano’s website and produced to the honorable Judge Jerome B. Simandle of the Federal District Court by Bob Dylan’s lead attorney Orin Synder. Said statement was entered upon the record of the court by Judge Simandle yet no legal action was ever taken to deny Plaintiff's statement. In other words Dylan has not denied the following statement. The rule of law states that Dylan must deny and or contest said statement within thirty days of it being entered on the record. To reiterate Dylan has never contested or denied the following statement. 

“It is publicly and judicially uncontested by Bob Dylan and or Bob Dylan’s law firms Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, Parcher Hayes & Snyder, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Hecker Brown & Sherry, Archer & Greiner, as well as Mary Jo White, Orin Snyder, Steven Hayes, Jonathan Liebman, and Sony House counsel that Bob Dylan and people in Bob Dylan’s entourage have solicited James Damiano’s songs and music for a period of over ten years and eleven months.” 

Solicit Definition: 

To ask for or try to obtain (something) from someone:

In the mid 70’s I, James Damiano, read an unauthorized biography about Bob Dylan, in which the author made reference to a man who at one time was considered to be the president of CBS Records although he never officially held the title of president of CBS. His name was John Hammond Sr. 

John Hammond Sr.

Hammond was born in New York, christened John Henry Hammond Jr, although both his father and grandfather shared the same name. He was the youngest child and only son of John Henry Hammond and Emily Vanderbilt Sloane. His mother was one of three daughters of William Douglas Sloane and Emily Thorn Vanderbilt, and a granddaughter of William Henry Vanderbilt. In other words John Hammond Sr. was a member of the Vanderbilt family. 

Mr. Hammond’s great grandfather William Henry Vanderbilt was an American businessman and philanthropist; he was the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt became the richest American after he took over his father's fortune in 1877. 

John Hammond Sr. studied music at Yale University. He was undoubtedly the most prominent and sought after record producer in the world. Hammond’s interest in social awareness and civil rights led him to sign Pete Seeger, a well known civil rights activist to Columbia Records in 1960. John Hammond Sr will probably always be considered the most influential music executive in the world. 

Hammond had signed a fascinating number of legendary artists to the record industry. He brought Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Leonard Cohen, George Benson, Charlie Christian, Duke Ellington, and Bruce Springsteen to Columbia Records. Hammond also worked as a producer with such early greats as Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman and Count Basie. 

Inspired by the book I read, I called CBS Records on the phone. The operator answered and I asked to be put through to John Hammond's office. The receptionist rang his office and a woman named Mikie Harris answered the phone.

Mikie’s position at CBS was assistant to John Hammond Sr. The only other person who I knew of who worked in Mr. Hammond’s office was Tony Tiller. 

I later came to find out that Mikie was also executive producer on two Stevie Ray Vaughan albums. 

Mikie Harris 

Mikie was also a board member of the National Academy of Popular Music’s Songwriters Hall of Fame.

When Mikie answered the phone I told Mikie that I was a songwriter and asked her if she had a few seconds to listen to one lyric. She replied yes by saying "Shoot." I then recited a lyric to her that I had recently written and said, "The lyric is just think how beautiful you'd feel if you knew your love was real." 

Within a few seconds I could tell Mikie loved the lyric. She immediately asked me if I write music. I replied “Yes.” She continued questioning me. Her questioning was extensive. She wanted to know how old I was. Where I was from. Where I went to school, where I was brought up, who I knew. Who and if I was working with anyone in the industry. As if in a frenzy she just kept firing questions at me. 

I was very excited that she was so interested! But what really excited me was that Mikie made it explicit that she wanted me to call her again. She repeatedly told me to feel free to call her at the office anytime between the hours of nine to five. So began a relationship where we would converse through actual meetings or correspond over the phone which lasted close to eleven and a half years. 

Since the beginning of my involvement with Mikie Harris I had been giving her songs that I recorded at home on my cassette deck. At other times I would bring them directly up to Mr. Hammond at Black Rock / CBS. 

I would go up and hang out with him at his office. We would talk for hours and he would ask me tons of questions. Kind of general questions as if he was trying to get a street level perspective of the music scene. Of course I’m speculating. I really don’t know what his objective actually was. It was 

almost incomprehensible for me since he was who he was and I was who I was. He already had a pretty good idea of what I thought, believed and saw of the world through my songs.

Mr. Hammond was searching for greatness. He wasn’t interested in anything less. After all, he discovered all the great ones. Duke Ellington, Charlie Christian, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Springsteen and Dylan. 

But greatness can be hard to find even for a man of Mr. Hammond’s stature. I had to find the road to greatness if I would continue to work with Hammond. The only path I could see at the time was spontaneity. 

It seemed logical. Everything I ever heard that was great had a touch of spontaneity to it, kind of like Jaco Pastorius. Jaco was considered to be the most highly acclaimed bass player in the industry and was signed to Epic Records. Spontaneity was all I had to go on at the time.

Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report) 

Spontaneity played a huge part in the process. When working with the greatest producer in the world anything less than great would not work. Spontaneity was one way to even begin to approach that level of greatness. It was the only clue I had if you will. It all had to be cutting edge avant-garde. 

Steel wheel screeches 

Friction causes smoke 

Filthy subway car 

Billboard selling coke 

One more run 

Through the tunnel 

One more run 

Through the park 

Twenty two and a half 

More blocks to go 

Till the daylight 

Turns to dark 

Spontaneity wasn’t the whole process but It was at least a direction to start down the road. You don’t just sit down and tell yourself “Today I’m going to write a great melody or song.” It just doesn’t work that way. There has to be

a piece of magic that sparks the idea. It could be the smallest possible spark but there has to be at least a miniscule piece of magic. Something so thought provoking that it would inspire one to continue to build on the idea. 

I’m not sure of anything 

Half the time anymore 

Days flying by 

The nights I fight 

To try and whip up a cure 

No I’m not sure of anything 

Half the time anymore 

One day after about a year and a half of working with Mikie and Mr. Hammond I was sitting at Mr. Hammond’s desk. Mikie was sitting in Mr. Hammonds chair on the other side of the desk. All of a sudden Mikie paused for a few seconds, stared me in the eyes and bluntly asked me “would you like to audition for Mr. Hammond?” 

Mikie’s question startled me. Her wanting me to audition for Mr. Hammond was intriguing. Other than thinking how profound my feeling was, the first thought that came to my mind was how fierce the competition would be. We’re not talking about auditioning for just anyone. 

We're talking about auditioning for a man who had witnessed performances of the greatest and most accomplished extraordinaires in the era of modern music. It was a difficult concept to understand. Immediately I realized that I 

would have to possess something so unique that it would have to be unparalleled to what Mr. Hammond had ever witnessed. 

The best way to express the feeling would be through a quote by Bruce Springsteen about his own audition with John Hammond which was : "We'd climbed to the heavens and spoken to the gods who told us we were spitting thunder and throwing lightning bolts. It was on. It was all on." ….Bruce Springsteen

By Brent Bambury. Originally published Nov. 13, 2020 

On May 2, 1972, a skinny, 23-year-old Bruce Springsteen and his manager Mike Appel approached John Hammond. He was,as Bob Dylan would say, a complete unknown. 

Springsteen states "Bare guitar in my hand, Mike and I walked into John Hammond's office and came face-to-face with the grey crew cut, horn-rimmed glasses, huge smile, grey suit and tie of my music business hero." 

Springsteen continued to say "Straightaway, with no discernible self-consciousness and before I'd played a note, Mike told John Hammond of Columbia Records I was perhaps the second coming of Jesus, Muhammad and Buddha and he'd brought me there to see if Hammond's discovery of Dylan was a fluke or if he really had ears." 

"John later told me he was poised and ready to hate us," Springsteen wrote. "But he just leaned back, slipped his hands together behind his head and, smiling, said, “Play me something.” 

"That smile was still there and I heard him say, 'You've got to be on Columbia Records.' One song — that's what it took," Springsteen writes.

Bruce Springsteen & John Hammond 

Although I believed Springsteen's second album “The Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle” was as significant as “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” and the Springsteen “Darkness” album was as profound as anything I have ever heard. I stopped listening to him after I heard “Born In The USA.” The alienation of more than three quarters of the world was just too restrictive for my taste. 

It was strange how although Mr. Hammond was born into aristocracy “Fur Lined Mink” piqued Hammonds interest.

None of my songs at that time had been recorded in a truly professional multi-track recording studio. I accepted the invitation to audition with Mr. Hammond. Mikie told me that she would call me back in a week to set up the time and place. 

A week later Mikie called and told me that she had set up the audition for three months from that date. The audition would be at Mr.

Hammond's office in the Media Sound Building in New York on West 57th Street at Eleven O'clock in the Morning. 

Media Sound Building 

After some thought I decided to quit my job to be able to practice for the audition. I knew the opportunity to audition for Mr. Hammond could be life altering. I began practicing everyday fourteen hours a day seven days a week for three solid months. The three months seemed like an eternity till finally the morning of the audition arrived. I was getting ready to leave for the audition and the phone rang. I answered it and it was Mikie. In a very matter of fact tone of voice she said “Jim I have some bad news.” I thought to myself this doesn’t sound good and asked her “What’s wrong?”

She said “Before I tell you what’s wrong I want your word that you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to say.” I said “Of course you have my word, what’s wrong?” She went on to say “I want to keep what I’m about to tell you out of the news so please don’t say anything about it to anyone ok?” I said “I understand.” She then told me that she had to cancel the audition because Mr. Hammond had a stroke and was in the hospital. 

The disappointment was devastating. She then assured me that once Mr. Hammond was out of the hospital she would reschedule the audition. 

A few months later Mikie called and rescheduled the audition for a few months from that date. I made the decision to keep on practicing like I had been fourteen hours a day seven days a week. I was excited and 

called a person who I was working with at the time named Allen LeWinter. 

Allen LeWinter 

Allen worked with Don Kirshner.

Don Kirshner 

Allen also worked with the band Kansas. Kirshner had Kansas under contract. 

Kansas 

Allen also worked with the Rolling Stones pictured below.

Allen and his wife were living in a beautiful high rise condo on the East side with a spectacular view from their balcony situated in a valley of high rises. It was impressive and the gold Kansas albums on the wall added to its attractiveness. 

Allen was a cool, modest guy. Just an all around classy person. A kind of a cultural and artistic guy whose greatest attribute was his professionalism and sincerity. 

One day Allen told me to pick him up at his condo and that we were going to a Kansas concert at Capital Theater in Passaic NJ. When we entered the concert we sat with Don Kirshner. I later came to find out that Allen was a big part of Kirshers organization. 

It seemed Allen's job was to seek out talent in the suburbs. Allen respected Mr. Hammond immensely and was looking forward to going to the audition with me. When I told Allen that the audition was rescheduled we made arrangements for me to pick him up at his condo on the east side the morning of the audition.

Again I started practicing and practicing fourteen hours a day when Mikie sent me a book titled "John Hammond on Record." 

It might not have been the best idea to read the book. Although It identified Mr. Hammond as the most influential music executive in the world it also documented Mr. Hammond’s immense sociological influence and humanitarian effect he had on society. The stories in the book were attesting and poignant. The feeling was almost a bit unnerving. 

Hard to see 

The shadows in 

The darkness of the night 

Hard to see the truth 

In the blindness of the light 

Never thought I’d see the day 

Where two wrongs 

Make a right 

Hard to see the shadows in the 

Darkness of the night

I returned to lengthy days of practicing again. The three months seemed like forever. Finally the date arrived. Not only was I about to audition for CBS Records but I was about to audition for the man who brought Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bob Dylan to Columbia Records. 

In the daytime, besides practicing, I was replacing an engine in a Fiat Spider that I had recently bought. I had to get the car done so I could drive it to the audition. I started working on the car two weeks before the day of the audition. I was working on the car every day. The days counted down to three nights before the audition and I couldn’t sleep. I stayed up all day working on the car while reflecting and questioning my capabilities and calculating my nervousness. I was exhausted and experiencing a brutal sense of questioning my guitar playing proficiency. 

The exhaustion was devastating. After two sleepless nights on the night before the day of the audition as midnight approached I was still wide awake. I laid in bed trying to fall asleep. It seemed impossible! My adrenalin wouldn't stop pumping. I laid there another hour and One o’clock rolled around. I was still wide awake. I knew I had to do something. 

At 2 AM I went downstairs and spotted a bottle of tequila. I opened it and drank three quarters of the bottle. One half hour later I was still wide awake. I was really starting to panic now. I frantically searched the medicine cabinet for something that would make me tired. I found some over-the-counter cold pills. I read the package and on the back of the box it stated “caution causes drowsiness.” I took three pills. I had to get at least a few hours of sleep before the audition. I waited a little while longer for them to kick in and finally at about 3 AM I fell asleep. 

The audition was for eleven o’clock in the morning. Pretty early for a musician. I had slept four hours and woke up at 7 AM, packed the car with my guitar and a case with my harmonicas, a harmonica holder, guitar strings and some other items. I jumped in my car and I sped up the

parkway to New York. I picked up Allen on the East Side and we drove crosstown to the audition on West 57th street. 

I parked the car about three blocks away in a parking garage. I jumped out and grabbed my guitar and Allen and I started walking to Mr. Hammond's office at the Media Sound Building. 

As I was walking I suddenly keeled over with my guitar case in my hand unable to take another step. I was exhausted and seriously dehydrated. I was about a block and a half away from Mr. Hammond’s office. 

As I was leaning over I looked up at Allen. His face was in shock. At first he didn’t know what to say. He was trying to assess the situation. Then quickly and frantically he said "You can do this. You can do this. Pull yourself together. You can do this.” while I was thinking to myself this is tragic. 

I only had two alternatives, quit and go home or go to the audition. If it wasn’t for the look on Allen’s face I would probably never have found the strength to go on. 

Allen’s reaction was so hilarious that when I saw the expression on his face I started laughing inside. It was that feeling that provided the strength for me to bypass my physiologically impaired state that almost prevented me from doing the audition. I stood up, started walking and we made it to the building. 

As we entered the building the receptionist called up to Mikie to tell her we were there. She hung up the phone and told us that Mikie said for us to go up. We met Mikie on the stairwell and she asked me if I'd like to tune my guitar. I said “yes” and she brought me into a recording studio where she pointed to a piano and said "You can tune your guitar to this piano. It's the piano that Billy Joel recorded Piano Man on.”

My first reaction to Mikie’s statement was now that's a dose of reality not too many musicians could swallow. Then I wondered what she would expect from me. When you give it some thought the competition is fierce. 

I sat down and started tuning my guitar when all of a sudden a string broke. Being so tired I had forgotten to bring the box of strings in the trunk of my car that was parked three blocks away. 

I jumped up and ran down the stairs. I stopped at the receptionist and asked her to get me some packets of salt (a possible remedy for the dryness in my mouth from being dehydrated). I ran into the parking garage and shouted to the attendant “Where’s my car, the Fiat?” He pointed me to the car and I ran to it. I popped open the trunk and grabbed the case that had the guitar strings in it.

Same Fiat Spider that I drove to the audition. 

I ran the three blocks back to the building and as I approached the receptionist she handed me the packets of salt like a handoff from an NFL quarterback as I ran up the stairs. I put the new string on and tuned the guitar as Mikie patiently waited. I sprinkled some salt on my hand, licked it and followed Mikie up to Mr. Hammond's office. Allen followed behind us. 

Mikie brought Allen and I into an audition room adjacent to Mr. Hammond’s office and told us to have a seat and that Mr. Hammond would join us in a couple of minutes. Allen took a chair and brought it all the way to the furthest corner of the room where he sat down. A real classy move. 

While waiting for Mr. Hammond I had a flashback of a conversation with a good friend Gary Robinson. We had known each other since childhood.

Gary was brilliant. He had a scholarship to do his college studies on a ship as he traveled around the world. Gary wanted to be sure that I utilized my time as efficiently as possible during the audition. 

Gary told me “You’re going to think that you have a lot of time with Mr. Hammond. But don’t fool yourself. Your time with Mr. Hammond is going to fly by fast. He’s a very busy man and probably has a very busy schedule.” 

Gary was extremely insightful and said “Mr. Hammond is going to want to talk about Bruce Springsteen knowing that you are both from the same hometown. Make sure you don’t end up talking about Bruce too long. Try to break into your songs the first chance you get.” 

Sure enough after Mikie introduced Allen and I to Mr. Hammond and after we all sat down Mr. Hammond looked directly at me and said “So you’re from the same hometown as Bruce?” It was as if Gary had a crystal ball. I answered “yes.” 

We talked about Bruce for about five minutes when again I remembered what Gary told me and I said to Mr. Hammond “I wrote a song that’s pretty similar to Bruce’s style. I explained that I had written the song on an electric guitar and that since I only had an acoustic guitar I'd rather not try to play it. I did say to him that I would like for him to read it. Mr Hammond politely understood and I handed him the song. 

The song Mr. Hammond read was identified in my copyright registration as “Just Say Yes To Me” and also as “Dignity” displayed below: 

I've got a plush A frame overlooking the Ocean, 

with a fireplace to keep us warm when it's cold 

Cathedral ceilings for romantic evenings 

And lights that turn down low 

In the garage there's a brand new 

Silver blue Porsche 

It's a 911- E

And all these luxuries 

Can be yours for a while honey 

If you just say yes to me. 

Just say yes to me honey 

Just say yes to me 

Just say yes to me honey 

And give up your dignity 

I like playing golf racquetball and tennis I bet on all the sports 

And I'm part owner of a nice little cottage Lodged up at a ski resort 

My boats docked down at little creek marina I just got a set of new sail 

On warm summer nights we'll sail out on the bay And watch falling stars make trails 

It's a good life when the money's right You can satisfy your curiosity 

And all you have to do honey 

Is just say yes to me 

Just say yes to me honey 

Just say yes to me 

Just say yes to me honey 

And give up your integrity 

My bank accounts bigger 

Than the houses I own 

Bigger than all three 

Live in maids clean all day 

To give us more time to be free 

Well go out every night 

Where you can show off all your 

New clothes and expensive jewelry 

And all you have to do honey is 

Just say yes to me 

Just say yes to me honey 

Just say yes to me 

Just say yes to me honey 

And give up your dignity

Damiano 1982 

As soon as Mr. Hammond finished reading the song, he quickly and frantically looked at me and asked if I was a college graduate. I answered “no.” At that point I knew I had passed the audition. It was general knowledge that Mr. Hammond would rather not work with anyone who was schooled. He’d rather work with raw talent. 

After he read the song I proceeded to play four songs for him. One of which was “Living Proof.” When the audition ended we all shook hands again and Mr. Hammond walked through the door to his office. Allen and I waited for a couple of minutes when Mikie came back into the room. 

The look on her face when she walked back in said it all. It was a look of amazement and confusion. Mr. Hammond auditioned quite a few musicians throughout the year. It would be an understatement to say that an exceedingly small percentage of people passed Mr. Hammond’s auditions. 

The odds of impressing Mr. Hammond were, colossally low, close to impossible. It was evident by the look on Mikie’s face that whatever Mr. Hammond told her in his office immediately after the audition, made her realize that I had passed the audition. She probably had a hard time believing that I beat the odds since she had witnessed so many who never did. She came out and said with a proud look on her face “Mr. Hammond said to keep working on the songs and that he would like to see you in a couple of months.” She was gleaming with pride. After all, she was the one who discovered me.

The song below was one of the four songs I played at the audition 

Sometimes I like to sit and think 

It’s something I seldom do 

And I hope like hell 

Hell ain’t like when 

The shower turns cold on you 

This feeling I fight 

Inside my soul 

Makes no sense to me 

And the only thing 

That makes any sense at all 

Is a sense to 

Want to believe 

So many are forgotten 

And It seems like such a shame 

So many live with hurt inside 

And so many live with no name 

I see them when I look 

Out the window 

On to forty second Street 

Running around 

With their dusty memories 

And no hopes of anyone to meet 

And I can’t help but wonder 

Why’s it gotta be this way 

One day here 

Gone the next 

Then there’s nothin left to say 

One day here 

Gone the next 

Then there’s nothin left to say 

Damiano C 1982

1972 Epiphone guitar that I auditioned with for Mr Hammond.

The relationship between Mr. Hammond, CBS Records, Mikie, Tony Tiller and I lasted for ten years and eleven months. In 1982 Mikie sent me a Christmas card stating: 

Dear Jim, 

"Wishing you a splendid Christmas and a most prosperous New Year." (signed) - Love Mikie, Randy, Duke and Nikkie too. December 1982.

Mikie invited me to stay at her home for weeks at a time where I wrote and experimented with songs on her baby grand piano. She would ultimately critique the songs. 

I put some musicians together and we started rehearsing the songs. We did some studio work with Ernest Boom Carter who played the drums on Springsteen's “Born to Run.” To this day I think Boom's most brilliant drum track he ever recorded was on “Pain In My Heart”, a song I wrote that he recorded the drum track on. 

Ernest Boom Carter

Jimmy Voltaggio

My lead guitarist was Jimmy Voltaggio. His playing was insanely electrifying. Jimmy’s uncle was a musician who would play for President Kennedy at the White House. Jimmy’s cousin Joey “Voltaggio” also played with us. Out of all the musician’s in Asbury Park NJ Joey was chosen to be the house act for The Berkeley Carteret Hotel partially owned by Johnny Cash. 

“Where are You Jesus” was a song I wrote and recorded in the late 70’s right before Dylan’s Reborn / Christian period. 

“It might be the devil or it might be the Lord but you're going to have to serve somebody”….Bob Dylan 

I’m a little bit frighten 

But I keep on fightin 

I keep on punching back 

Everywhere I go 

Someone throws 

Another major attack 

My lifes a mess 

My worlds possessed 

With doubt confusion and pain 

Been reborn 

Through the storm 

And baptized in acid rain 

And I was only tryin 

To keep myself from cryin 

Well the Devil must 

Be the blame 

Where are you Jesus 

It’s about time 

You claim your honor to fame 

Where are you Jesus

It’s about time 

You claim your honor to fame 

It could all end tomorrow 

So why not live for today 

I'll leave you with all the sorrow 

Just as long as you promise 

To pray 

Cause what good is a man 

Who needs love that bad 

Can't you understand 

It Doesn't Have To Be This Sad 

And I Was Was Only Tryin 

To Keep Myself From Cryin 

Well The Devil Must 

Be The Blame 

Where Are You Jesus 

It's About Time 

You Claim Your Honor To Fame 

Where Are You Jesus 

It's About Time 

You Claim Your Honor To Fame 

And I Was Was Only Tryin 

To Keep Myself From Cryin 

Well The Devil Must Be The Blame 

Where Are You Jesus 

It's About Time 

You Claim Your Honor To Fame 

No one makes love 

As good as God 

Well the devil must be the blame 

Where are you Jesus 

It’s about Time 

You claim your honor to fame 

One day Jimmy and I were standing in front of the Blue Note in Greenwich Village when Jimmy suddenly pointed over at a person and said “That’s Jaco Pastorius.” We had just gotten out of the studio and had a superclean copy of “Pain in my Heart” and “Where Are You Jesus” loaded in the walkman.

Jimmy walked over to Jaco and said “Jaco listen to this” as he put the earphones on Jaco’s ears. Jaco listened for about thirty seconds with an intense serious look on his face. Then all of a sudden Jaco got this enormous smile on his face and just started walking down the street with the earphones on. 

We followed him all over the village as he would walk around for hours at a time feeding the homeless, never once taking the headphones off. When the batteries died he would stop and turn to us, hold out the walkman and make a gesture to replace batteries. After we put the new batteries in the walkman Jaco would continue on his mission. Jaco didn’t speak a great deal. He mostly gestured with his body movement. 

I was at the time traveling back and forth from the Jersey shore to New York by bus when Jaco said to me “Just stay here.” He was living on Jones Street in the village. 

When he went to sleep he would put the walkman next to him. As soon as he woke he would put the earphones back on and keep them on all day listening to my music over and over again. 

I started learning a lot about who Jaco really was. Although it may not have been officially published anywhere I started to realize that other than Miles Davis, Jaco was probably the most highly acclaimed musician in the world. 

During his teens, he played bass guitar for Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders. In the early 1970s, Pastorius taught bass at the University of Miami, where he befriended jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, who was on the University of Miami's faculty. 

With Paul Bley and Bruce Ditmas, Pastorius and Metheny recorded an untitled album of Jaco in 1974. Pastorius then played on Metheny's debut album, “Bright Size Life” in 1976.

Jaco recorded his debut solo album, “Jaco Pastorius” on Epic Records in 1976 with Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Herbie Hancock, Hubert Laws, Sam & Dave, David Sanborn, and Wayne Shorter. 

I kept on writing, rehearsing and recording songs. All of which I and the guys in my band had brought up to Mikie and Mr. Hammond at CBS.

CBS Building 

Door to CBS Building 

The following envelope enclosed a letter from Mikie Harris sent to me at my parents home:

After taking my songs for eight and a half years and realizing Mr. Hammond was nearing the end of his life, Mikie wrote me the following letter meant to protect CBS. I contend that a good majority of what Mikie stated in the following letter was worded to be misleading. 

On June 15, 1987 Mikie wrote a letter to me stating; 

Dear Jim: 

Thanks for 'sharing' your lyrics / poetry with me. To me, your work represents a lot of time and effort but, from an artistic point of view, I feel that it is representative of poetry rather than a song in today's commercial market of music. 

Since no tape accompanied the words, I have no way of knowing what your ideas are with regard to the music. 

I just wish that there was some way for me to be of help to you, but with things the way they are, especially regarding Mr. Hammond's health, my hands are tied.

Our office has (at least since I've been associated with John) been actively involved with publishing, which is something I suggested you try to your material several years ago. 

I still maintain that this is the best route for you. Publishers can reach major artists and guide you with regard to your material. 

On the basis of the material that you have just now presented to me, I think it might stand a stronger chance of being recognized as a volume of straight poetry rather than songs. 

Because of Mr. Hammond's policy with regard to his relationships with artists he has worked with, I will not be able to present your material to Bob Dylan. 

Jim, I wish you the best ( but surely you know this by now after all these years ) and I'm only sorry that our office can't be of assistance to you. Take care……Mikie. A copy of the envelope which enclosed Mikie Harris's letter is displayed below the letter..

When I received the June 15th, 1987 letter from Mikie Harris stating that she could not be of assistance to me, I called CBS and asked to speak to her. A man answered the phone and told me that Mikie was at the hospital with Mr. Hammond. His name was Tony Tiller and he said that he was watching over Mr. Hammond’s office while Mikie was out.

Mr. Tiller then asked me if I was the person who wrote the material on Mr. Hammond' s desk. I asked him what material he was referring to and he replied, ”the songs in the big black notebook”. I replied “Yes” and we started to converse about the songs. 

We started meeting or corresponding over the phone as Mikie and I had and Anthony started inviting me to parties in New York that other CBS people would attend. 

Tony Tiller 

After Mr. Hammond died Mikie told me she was given two weeks to clear out all of Mr. Hammond’s business affairs. 

Anyone with any intelligence would know that it would be absolutely impossible to close out Mr. Hammond’s legacy in two weeks. 

The only possible logical conclusion was that after Mikie did leave CBS, approximately two weeks after Mr. Hammond's death, she had asked Tony

Tiller to advocate to CBS on behalf of the artists who were John Hammond affiliates, since she would no longer have that opportunity. 

After Mr. Hammond’s death, whenever I called Mr. Hammond’s office Tony Tiller would answer Hammond’s line. After Mikie left CBS Tony Tiller and I would continue in the same fashion as the relationship between Mikie and I. 

The people in this industry had a way of making you feel as if you were very extraordinary. They portrayed a level of respect for you that was exceedingly evident. There was no way you could not feel it. 

It however was a real struggle trying to juggle life, music, work and survival. My cousin Joanne knew it was difficult. She constantly kept telling me not to give up so one night I wrote a song about her. It was a song that at first I recorded at home on my cassette deck. 

When I played it for Tony he loved it and said to me “We have to do this in a professional studio.” He said “You need some professional demos of your music.” The only problem is professional recording studios cost $200.00 per hour. And a twenty four track recording would cost a great deal of money which I didn’t have. 

I went to my boss Mohammad Marhoumy and I played him the song and he liked it. Then I asked him if he would finance the project which was approximately ten thousand dollars. Initially he said “No,” passing on the project. Then I asked him “What if I could introduce you to an executive at CBS Records in New York who is interested in my music?” He went on to say “Set up the meeting.” 

In a declaration Mohammad Marhoumy a personal investor of James Damiano's declares under penalty of perjury that:

I, Mohammad Marhoumy, state that I have read the following statement and I am willing to testify in a court of law that it is true that on or about July 1987, James Damiano and I drove to New York to attend a meeting with Anthony Tiller. Anthony Tiller was working for CBS Records . This meeting was in reference to James Damiano's songs. Mr. Tiller and I discussed the financing of a musical project of James Damiano's music. At this time I entered into a verbal agreement with Mr. Tiller. I was obligated according to the agreement to supply the money for the project. After this meeting with Mr. Tiller I invested ten thousand dollars. This money was paid to Brian Draigo of Broccoli Rabe studios in Fairfield New Jersey, where Mr. Damiano recorded "Another Justification" and ”My Cousin Joanne" . 

I, Mohammad Marhoumy, am willing to testify in a court of law that the above statement is true. 

Mr. Marhoumy signed the above declaration on January 2nd , 1995. 

Mohammad Marhoumy was also deposed in this litigation by Bob Dylan's attorneys. When Mr. Marhoumy was asked by Orin Snyder (Dylan's attorney) Mohammad testified 

The following transcript is from Mohammad Marhoumy's deposition. Please note: All depositions besides Plaintiff's are videotaped: 

2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 

3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x 

4 JAMES DAMIANO, :

5 Plaintiff, : 

6 -against- :Case No. 

95-4795 

7 SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT, INC. and : BOB DYLAN, 

8 : 

Defendants. 

9 : 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x 

10 

May 9, 1996 

11 11:28 a.m. 

12 Deposition of Non-Party Witness MOHAMED MARHOUMY, 13 taken by Defendants, pursuant to subpoena, at the 14 offices of Parcher & Hayes, P.C., 500 Fifth 

15 Avenue, New York, New York, before Robert E. Levy, 16 a Certified Shorthand Reporter and Notary Public 17 within and for the State of New York. 

Appearances : 

3 

STEVEN M. KRAMER & ASSOCIATES

4 Attorneys for Plaintiff 

150 West 56th Street 

5 65th Floor 

New York, New York 10019 

6 

By: STEVEN M. KRAMER, ESQ., 

7 of Counsel 

8 

9 PARCHER & HAYES, P.C. 

Attorneys for Defendants 

10 500 Fifth Avenue 

38th Floor 

11 New York, New York 10110-3899 

12 By: ORIN S. SNYDER, ESQ., 

-and 

13 STEVEN HAYES, ESQ., 

of Counsel 

14 

15 

Also Present: 

16 

JAMES DAMIANO 

17 

RAM SUNDRANI, 

18 Videographer 

4 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED

5 by and between the attorneys for the 6 respective parties hereto that the sealing 7 and filing of the within deposition be, and 8 the same hereby are, waived; and that the 9 transcript may be signed before any Notary 10 Public with the same force and effect as if 11 signed before the Court. 

12 IT IS FURTHER STIPULATED AND AGREED 13 that all objections, except as to the form 14 of the question, shall be reserved to the 15 time of trial. 

2 THE VIDEOGRAPHER: Good morning. We 3 are on the record. My name is Ram 4 Sundrani. I'll be the video operator for 5 today, May 9, 1996. I represent Doyle

6 Reporting located at 369 Lexington Avenue, 7 New York, New York. 

8 We are here at the office of Parcher 9 & Hayes located at 500 Fifth Avenue, New 10 York, New York. This is the case of James 11 Damiano versus Sony Music Entertainment. 12 This is the deposition of Mohamed Marhoumy. 13 At this time counsel will identify 14 themselves. 

15 MR. KRAMER: Steven Kramer for the 16 plaintiff. 

17 MR. SNYDER: Orin Snyder and Steven 18 Hayes for the defendants. 

19 THE VIDEOGRAPHER: At this time I'll 20 have the court reporter swear in the 21 witness.

22 M O H A M E D M A R H O U M Y, (residing at XX 23 Darnay Road, Morristown, New Jersey), 24 having been first duly sworn by the Notary 25 Public (Robert E. Levy), was examined and 

5 

1 Marhoumy 

2 testified as follows: 

3 EXAMINATION BY 

4 MR. SNYDER: 

5 Q. Good morning, sir. 

6 A. Good morning. 

7 Q. Will you please state your name and 8 spell it? 

9 A. Mohamed, M-o-h-a-m-e-d, Marhoumy, 10 M-a-r-h-o-u-m-y.

11 Q. And what is your address, sir? XX A. ------------- Morristown, New 

13 Jersey. 

14 Q. What is your telephone number? 

15 A. 201---------- 

16 Q. What is your date of birth? 

17 A. November -------- 

18 Q. Sir, you've never been deposed 

19 before, have you? 

20 A. No. 

20 Q. Thank you. And sir, you are aware 

21 that Mr. Damiano has sued Bob Dylan and Sony 

22 Music, is that correct? 

23 A. Yes. 

24 Q. And you are aware, sir, that his 

25 allegations include allegations that Bob Dylan

24 

1 Marhoumy 

2 used his lyrics and music? 

3 A. Yes. 

4 Q. If Mr. Damiano is alleging that some 5 of the words and music that Mr. Dylan allegedly 6 used were words and music that came out of the 7 recording session -- 

8 A. Uh-huh. 

9 Q. -- then do you have a 50 percent 10 interest in any revenues that Mr. Damiano might 11 receive in connection with his claims if they 12 arise out of these recording sessions? 13 A. Okay -- 

14 MR. KRAMER: Talking about from the

15 lawsuit, in other words if an award is made 16 by a jury, is that what you are referring 17 to? 

18 MR. SNYDER: Let's just read the 19 question -- 

20 MR. KRAMER: It is unclear. 21 Q. I'll rephrase the question. You are 22 aware, sir, that Mr. Damiano has sued Bob Dylan 23 and Sony Music? 

24 A. Yes. 

25 Q. And his claims are that Mr. Dylan 25 

1 Marhoumy 

2 used some of his lyrics and music in Mr. Dylan's 3 songs, that is Mr. Damiano's claim, correct?

4 A. Uh-huh. Yes. 

5 Q. And if Mr. Damiano is claiming that 6 some of the songs that Mr. Dylan allegedly stole 7 were songs which you helped to produce, and if Mr. 8 Damiano receives a judgment in this case, let's 9 say, against Mr. Dylan, -- 

10 A. Uh-huh. 

11 Q. -- based on his claims, based on 12 those tapes, do you have a 50 percent interest in 13 that judgment? 

14 A. I would say if this allegedly stolen 15 music was on that tape that I produced, the man 16 wrote thousands of songs. 

17 Q. I understand. 

18 A. I'm not even sure, I'm not sure which 19 ones he claims that Bob Dylan's stole. If the

20 stolen music, as he says, was part of my tape that 21 I paid for, yeah, I believe I'm entitled to it, 22 but if it is not, then I'm not. 

23 Q. Well, hasn't Mr. Damiano told you 24 that some of the songs that he claims Mr. Dylan 25 used were songs that were on your tape? 

26 

1 Marhoumy 

2 A. No, actually he didn't. 

3 Q. Never discussed that? 

4 A. Never discussed that. That it was -- 5 we only did one tape. It had like eight songs, I 6 believe. I don't know if -- actually, the tape 

7 has no lyrics. The tape we did was just music. 8 So it couldn't be from my tape.

9 Q. Well, one of Mr. Damiano's claims is 10 that Mr. Dylan used his music? 

11 A. There is lyrics to the music but they 12 are not on the tape. The tape we have that we 13 produced has no -- well, no, it has lyrics, excuse 14 me, it has lyrics, only one song does have 15 lyrics -- there are eight songs on the tape. One 16 song doesn't have lyrics, one song, My Cousin 17 Joann. There is no lyrics on that song, but the 18 rest of the tape has lyrics so it is possible. I 19 don't know. I don't know which lyrics he is 20 claiming that Bob Dylan stole. It could be one of 21 the songs that we have, and if it is, yes, I 22 believe yes, if he made an agreement with somebody 23 else, that is fine, then his half of that, and if 24 it happened to be one of the songs that I paid

25 for, then I should be entitled to something. If 27 

1 Marhoumy 

2 it is not, then I'm not entitled to it. 

3 Q. Mr. Damiano wrote this statement and 4 asked you to sign it, correct? 

5 A. Yes. 

6 Q. And you read it before signing it, 7 correct? 

8 A. Yes. 

9 Q. You knew this statement was going to 10 be used in connection with a court case, correct? 11 A. Yes, this is true. 

12 Q. And you knew that because it was

13 going to be used in a court case, it was important 14 that the statement be truthful, correct? 15 A. Yes. 

16 Q. And accurate? 

17 A. Yes. 

18 Q. And complete? 

19 A. Yes. 

20 Q. You understood that the purpose of 21 this statement was to set forth the facts that you 22 knew related to this case, is that correct? 23 A. Yes. 

24 Q. And that is your signature, correct? 25 A. Yes. 

29 

1 Marhoumy

2 Q. Why don't you tell us what the 3 circumstances were that brought -- withdrawn. 4 Did you have a conversation with Mr. 5 Damiano before signing this statement about 6 signing the statement? 

7 A. The only conversation that I remember 8 is he was suing Bob Dylan. And they were putting 9 together a list of witnesses, and they wanted me 10 to testify. Do I have a problem to testify based 

11 on what happened, and that is the only part I was 12 involved with him as far as business when it comes 13 to that. This is the truth. So I signed it. 14 Q. When you say they were putting 15 together a witness list? 

16 A. Him and his attorney. 

17 Q. Do you remember who his attorney was

18 at the time? 

19 A. I've never met his attorney until 20 this morning. I didn't know what his name was or 21 who it was. 

10 Q. Okay. Sir, when did you -- have you 11 ever met an individual by the name of Tony Tiller? 12 A. Yes. 

13 Q. And when -- how many times have you 14 met him? 

15 A. Only once. 

16 Q. And why don't you tell us the 17 circumstances leading up to your meeting Mr. 18 Tiller? 

19 A. Okay. I believe it was 1987 and Jim

20 was working for me at the dealership and I know he 21 was into the music, and you know, writing and 22 listening to music, and he had mentioned that his 23 music is being read by Bob Dylan, and I mean I 24 don't -- I'm not familiar even at that time who 25 Bob Dylan was. I'm not a big music fan of Bob 

32 

1 Marhoumy 

2 Dylan or anything, but my wife heard about him and 3 she was like, well, he is this and that, she told 4 me about who Bob Dylan was. I didn't believe him 5 in the beginning. I didn't believe him. He 6 wanted to produce a record that he believed it 7 would end up in Bob Dylan's hands and he needed 8 money to produce that record. It was going to be

9 approximately $10,000. Somewhere around that 10 number. And he was looking for somebody to invest 11 into that and share whatever profit that would 12 come out of this. 

13 And at the time, I was into 

14 investments. I just bought a few family houses, I 15 had just all kind of credit cards, I had American 16 Express Platinum and that gave me a $10,000 check 17 limit with it, I just got in the mail just at the 18 time he was talking to me about this, and I 19 thought about it for a while but I wasn't about to 20 make a decision just based on his words, and I 21 wanted to meet with somebody that would concur 22 with what he is saying. 

23 And he mentioned Sony Records, CBS 24 building, that he goes there, and he meets with

25 this -- supposedly a big shot with that company, 33 

1 Marhoumy 

2 his name is Anthony Tiller and he is the one that 3 takes his lyrics to Bob Dylan, and if I don't 4 believe him I can go meet with Anthony. If that 5 would help let me get into the business with him 6 that he wanted to do, and I decided yes, I'll meet 7 with him. 

8 Q. Okay. Let me -- good, so now we are 9 up to this meeting? 

10 A. Yes. 

11 Q. Let me take you back. You weren't 12 familiar with Bob Dylan when he told you that his 13 music was being read by Bob Dylan?

14 A. I heard of his name. I didn't know 15 his music. 

16 Q. You knew he was a famous recording 17 artist? 

18 A. Yes, I heard of his name. I was not 19 familiar with his music. I never listened to him. 

34 

1 Marhoumy 

3 Q. And you didn't believe Mr. Damiano at 4 the time? 

5 A. Yes, I didn't. 

6 Q. Why didn't you believe him? 7 A. Because I didn't. I don't know much 8 about lyrics myself. When I read his music, his

9 lyrics, to me, it doesn't make sense, I don't 10 understand. But I don't know what Bob Dylan sings 11 either. I mean it could be the same thing, but I 12 didn't think it was true. I just didn't think it 13 was. 

14 Q. Well, what other factors caused you 15 to not believe him that it was true? 

16 A. The fact that he was just a salesman. 17 You know, Bob Dylan is reading your music, you 18 should be doing something with that. Obviously he 19 was just a salesman, so I didn't believe it. 20 Bottom line is I wasn't just going to spend money 21 based on his words being just a salesman for me. 

22 Q. Did Mr. Damiano tell you that any 23 other rock stars were reading his music? 

24 A. No. Not at that point.

25 Q. At that point in 1987, sir, did he 35 

1 Marhoumy 

2 tell you that Bob Dylan was already reading his 3 music? 

4 A. He was -- yes. He was receiving, his 5 music was being given to Bob Dylan to read. 6 Q. According to Mr. Damiano, that was 7 through Tony Tiller? 

8 A. Through Anthony Tiller, yes. 9 Q. That Mr. Damiano told you that he 10 gave his music to Anthony Tiller and Anthony 11 Tiller then gave his music to Mr. Dylan? 12 A. Yes, that is how I perceived it. 13 Q. And you perceived it based on what

14 Mr. Damiano told you? 

15 A. Well, until I met Anthony. That's 16 why I wanted to meet with Anthony. 

25 Q. At that point in 1987, sir, did he 35 

1 Marhoumy 

2 tell you that Bob Dylan was already reading his 3 music? 

4 A. He was -- yes. He was receiving, his 5 music was being given to Bob Dylan to read. 6 Q. According to Mr. Damiano, that was 7 through Tony Tiller? 

8 A. Through Anthony Tiller, yes. 9 Q. That Mr. Damiano told you that he

10 gave his music to Anthony Tiller and Anthony 11 Tiller then gave his music to Mr. Dylan? 12 A. Yes, that is how I perceived it. 13 Q. And you perceived it based on what 14 Mr. Damiano told you? 

15 A. Well, until I met Anthony. That's 16 why I wanted to meet with Anthony. 17 Q. I'm still before -- 

18 A. Yes, before meeting with him, it was 19 just based on what Jim was telling me. 20 Q. And Mr. Damiano at the time was 21 looking for an investment? 

22 A. Looking for somebody to help him with 23 the money. 

24 Q. And Mr. Damiano also told you that 25 Anthony Tiller was a big shot at CBS Records?

36 

1 Marhoumy 

2 A. Yes. 

3 Q. How did he describe his position to 4 you? 

5 A. I don't exactly recall, but he was in 6 like in the R&R or PR, like entertainment. 7 Q. A&R? 

8 A. A&R, that is the right word, 9 something like that, but he was high up in that 10 company. 

23 Q. And not believing Mr. Damiano, based 24 on what he said, you wanted to meet Mr. Tiller, 25 that is your testimony?

37 

1 Marhoumy 

2 A. Yes. 

3 Q. Okay, and when was the first time 4 that Mr. Damiano raised with you the possibility 5 of you giving him money to record a tape? 6 A. I would say a couple of weeks before 7 the meeting with Anthony. 

8 Q. And he approached you, is that 9 correct? 

10 A. Yes. 

11 Q. And what did he tell you about what 12 he hoped would happen as a result of your 13 investment? 

14 A. Well, basically there was that one

15 song that he was -- that he really liked a lot, 16 which is My Cousin Joann, and we just believed 17 that would be a big hit if somebody like Bob Dylan 18 would sing that song, that would be like a big hit 19 and that was -- you know, that's what got me 20 interested. 

21 Q. And then your wife told you that yes, 22 In fact Bob Dylan is a big superstar? 23 A. Yes. 

24 MR. KRAMER: Gentlemen, could you 25 possibly speak one at a time. 

38 

1 Marhoumy 

2 THE WITNESS: Okay. 

3 MR. KRAMER: So we don't have to do

4 this twice. 

5 Q. So in effect Mr. Damiano asked you to 6 invest $10,000 in his recording project? 7 A. Yes. 

8 Q. And before your meeting with Mr. 9 Tiller, did you enter into your agreement with Mr. 10 Damiano? 

11 A. No. 

12 Q. That was after? 

13 A. Yes. 

14 Q. And you gave, as you testified, the 15 $10,000 because you hoped you would make a lot 16 more? 

17 A. Of course. 

18 Q. And in fact you made nothing? 19 A. Yes.

20 Q. And in fact Mr. Damiano never paid 21 back the $10,000? 

22 A. No. 

23 Q. And in fact you've asked it back from 24 him? 

25 A. No. 

39 

1 Marhoumy 

2 Q. Never? 

3 A. I never asked for it back. 

4 Q. Is that because you knew he didn't 5 have it to pay back? 

6 A. I know he doesn't have it. It was 7 just a bad decision on my part, a bad business 8 decision. In my mind I just wrote it off.

9 Q. If you knew that Mr. Damiano was 10 flush and had lots of cash, wouldn't you ask him 11 for the $10,000 back? 

12 A. I lost track of him for years, but if 13 I heard that he had money, I would have, but I 14 know that he doesn't. 

15 Q. But if you knew right now that Mr. 16 Damiano had a $200,000 CD and was living high on 17 the hog, you would call him up and you would say, 18 What about my $10,000, correct? 

19 A. If he didn't give it to me, but what 20 I remember about Jim, if he has the money he would 21 give it to me. 

22 Q. And in fact the $10,000 investment 23 which you made in 1987, if you compound interest 24 and do all sorts of things to it, you probably are

25 out of the current dollars, more than 20,000 bucks? 40 

1 Marhoumy 

2 A. I would say so. 

3 Q. And is it fair to say that you were 4 ultimately unhappy about that sour investment? 5 A. I can say that. 

6 Q. Why don't you tell us about that? 7 A. It is just that it didn't get 

8 anywhere. After the song was produced, we made a 9 where bunch of tapes and that was the end of it 10 basically. It didn't take off. Nothing happened 11 after that. 

12 Q. The tape was never released on a 13 record?

14 A. Yes, it just never happened, it never 15 happened. 

16 Q. And for a time, you called Mr. 17 Damiano and kept on him a bit to find out what was 18 happening, correct? 

19 A. Yes, and he tried to do a couple of 20 things with it. If I remember, he made a whole 21 bunch of tapes and went to like college campuses 22 and tried to sell them to get some money back, 23 which I wasn't interested in that, you know, but 24 Whatever he sold, he sold. I didn't -- in my mind 25 I just wrote it off completely that this was a bad 

41 

1 Marhoumy 

2 investment. It's over.

3 Q. At some point you wrote it off, sir, 4 I understand, correct? 

5 A. Yes. 

6 Q. But before writing it off, there was 7 a time when you didn't write it off? 

8 A. For probably I would say three weeks 9 to a month after the record was done. 10 Q. And during those three weeks to a 11 month after the record was done, you called Mr. 12 Damiano to find out the status of the project, 13 correct? 

14 A. Yes. 

15 Q. And when he told you that nothing was 16 being done, is it fair to say that you became, at 

17 times, somewhat annoyed at the situation?

18 A. Yes. I wasn't happy about it. 19 Q. What, if anything, did you say to Mr. 20 Damiano about the failure of him to turn that 21 investment into any profit for you? 

22 A. I didn't make a case of it. All I 23 remember is just talking to Jim Damiano about it, 24 just stay with it, just don't give up, keep 25 trying. Things of that nature. You know. In my 

42 

1 Marhoumy 

2 mind, you gotta understand, I didn't see Jim doing 3 anything wrong. I think he produced a good 4 record. I liked it, my wife liked it. It was 5 good music. I still got a few tapes. I know I 6 gave some to my friends. We did nothing wrong as

7 far as that. The bad part of it is that I'm the 8 one that spent the money on it and I didn't get 9 anything back, but I was convinced that this was a 10 good decision, and at the same time that the tape 

11 came out very good. So, he didn't do anything 12 wrong. I was mad at myself. 

13 Q. You said you didn't believe him and 14 his claims about Bob Dylan listening to his music 15 when you were in the car dealership before your 16 meeting with Tony Tiller, correct? 

17 A. That was your testimony, correct? 18 A. Yes. 

19 Q. After the meeting and after it became 20 clear that your $10,000 was going down the drain, 21 isn't it fair to say that your feelings of 22 disbelief began to reemerge?

23 A. Not after the meeting. After the 24 tape, two or three weeks after the tape. After 25 the meeting I was very excited. 

43 

1 Marhoumy 

2 Q. We are going to get to the meeting in 3 a minute and your excitement. I'm now taking you 4 after this meeting. There came a time that it was 5 clear that your $10,000 investment was going down 6 the drain? 

7 A. Yes, that sunk in. 

8 Q. You got your American Express 9 Platinum bill? 

10 A. Uh-huh. 

11 Q. Wham, $10,000. You got to pay that?

12 A. Well, the way -- that is why I did 13 this, because it was, like you get a checkbook 14 with that and you make monthly payments. It 15 wasn't you have to pay it all at once. 16 Q. So every month you are reminded about 17 this $10,000 investment that had gone down the 18 drain, and my question to you, sir, is -- 19 MR. KRAMER: Was that a question or 20 a color commentary about every month? 21 Q. Is that correct? 

22 A. Well, not me, maybe my wife, she pays 23 the bills. I just put it out of my mind, but, 24 yes, I can see what he was saying, it was not me 25 personally. 

44

1 Marhoumy 

2 Q. You were aware month to month, sir, 3 that you had to pay the interest, or whatever it 4 is, on the $10,000? 

5 A. Yes, I was. 

6 Q. And my question to you, sir, is that 7 after those three weeks, and after you started 8 paying monthly that $10,000, your feelings of 9 disbelief about Mr. Damiano's claims of having 10 some connection to Bob Dylan -- 

11 A. Uh-huh. 

12 Q. -- began to resurface? 

13 MR. KRAMER: Are you asking him that 14 or are you advising him that? 

15 MR. SNYDER: It is a question.

16 A. If you want an answer, I'll give you 17 an answer. I don't think that Jim was the one 18 that made me -- gave me that disbelief. It was 19 Anthony. I think Jim was just maybe lied to, like 20 I was. That is how I perceived it. I took him 21 for a victim just as much as myself. If there was 22 no connection to Mr. Dylan, it wasn't because of 23 what he said to me, it was because of what Anthony 24 said to me. 

25 Q. I'm not -- I understand that. We 45 

1 Marhoumy 

2 will get to that in a minute. 

3 A. You are getting at -- 

4 Q. I'm not asking about being mad now.