Third Eye Blind was one of the biggest rock acts in the world for a couple years. They have not have had the commercial longevity or the critical impact as some of their peers, but it's difficult to deny the stranglehold they had on radio during the tail end of the 1990s. A big reason why was the sensibilities of guitarist Kevin Cadogan.
Cadogan, who was a founding member of the band in 1993, co-wrote some of Third Eye Blind's most indelible singles, including "How's It Gonna Be," "Graduate" and "Losing a Whole Year." He was a major part of the band's sound from both a musical and lyrical standpoint. But eventually parted ways with Third Eye Blind in 2000.
Cadogan was fired from Third Eye Blind
The guitarist claims this parting was not his idea. He claims he was ousted from the still popular band after business disagreements with singer and fellow co-founder Stephan Jenkins. Cadogan said that he and Jenkins had previously established that they would be equal partners in Third Eye Blind, but it did not pan out this way when the latter established Third Eye Blind Inc, making him the sole "owner" of the band.
According to SF Gate, Cadogan refused to sign any future recording contracts upon learning that his former partner had taken financial control of the band. Third Eye Blind had been offered a $1 million advance to start an imprint with Elektra Records, but Cadogan did not feel comfortably agreeing, as Jenkins would be getting the lion's share of the profits.
So what did the guitarist do? He sued for wrongful termination, claiming that his recording and songwriter royalties had been withheld after he was let go. It gotten even worse during the lawsuit, with Cadogan discovering that Jenkins' ownership of the band meant that he has been able to refer to Cadogan and others as "contract employees" instead of legitimate "band members."
Cadogan settled a band lawsuit in 2002
"That definitely didn’t sit well," Cadogan told Flood Magazine. "What they did subsequently to other band members is, they would take the copyright and make the band member feel like they owned their own songs when in fact they didn't."
The guitarist eventually settled out of court with Third Eye Blind in 2002. The terms of settlement remain undisclosed to the public, but we do know that Cadogan has been able to secure copyrights to the band songs he helped compose. He's since gone on to record three solo albums and form the bands Radio Angel and XEB. The latter even toured to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first Third Eye Blind album in 2017.