EXCLUSIVE: Schweich Camp Contacted The Dandy Warhols Weeks Before Denying Connection To Their Song

Submitted by .Sean on April 23, 2010 - 9:33am

Shortly after we posed questions about the striking similarities between The Dandy Warhols' "Bohemian Like You" and Ambassador Thomas Schweich's "Gimme Back My Freedom," Schweich denied any connection between the songs. Recall this passage in The Beacon on April 7:

[Schweich] was most upset today by allegations on the Democratic-leaning site, Firedupmissouri.com, that the tune is patterned after Courtney Taylor-Taylor's "Bohemian Like You,'' recorded in 2000. Schweich said that's absolutely not true. "The words and music are my own,'' he said.

His music heroes, Schweich continued, are a bit more well-known -- namely, members of the legendary rock band, the Rolling Stones. He's attended a dozen of their concerts.

Fired Up! has obtained documents from The Dandy Warhols showing that Schweich's statements to The Beacon were misleading - at best. An attorney for Schweich contacted the band in February, at which time he stated that Schweich's song "does play on a few themes from Bohemian Like You," and wrote that a "tentative title" for the song was "Conservative Like You."

In fact, Schweich's representative even opened the door to "a modest fee" in exchange for permission to use the band's intellectual property because "Tom wants to show his respect for the band and wishes to have the band's and record company's cooperation and blessing, if possible."

Schweich's attorney even stated he is "a big fan" of The Dandy Warhols -- a fact he clearly forgot to mention to The Beacon's Jo Mannies.

The Dandy Warhols denied Schweich's requests, at which point Schweich's attorney promised that he would "go in a different direction" and rewrite the song. He didn't rewrite much, it would seem.

The bigger story here is Schweich's response to the Missouri press corps. When challenged on the similarities between his song and "Bohemian Like You," Schweich expressed disgust and flatly denied any similarities. "Schweich said that's absolutely not true," Jo Mannies wrote. "The words and music are my own,'' he declared, and then shifted the conversation to one about his musical inspirations.

Back to you, Tom....

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As a refresher, here is the Dandy Ambassador's song: