Sigh! I don't like the scribblings either, especially as they are huge and the wrong way round raising questions as to the author's literacy. What has probably kept me from having it removed is that I have a four string LP Standard with the same fin on nicer wood. Also, I had to promise the seller at the time I would keep the autograph (he had been aghast when I mentioned removing it and then refused to sell the bass for me for another couple of years!).
Funny thing is, it never fails to impress people who have no idea who T.M. Stevens is. They see it in my office and immediately go: "Oh, this was signed by someone famous, right? It must be very valuable ...".
It's a very stable 8 string by the way though the LP Standard's neck was never intended for such misuse. Not like that 8 string from
that other Californian brand 
which is currently with my luthier for a fretboard removal to straighten its warped neck ...
