JUMPING DARKNESS PARADE: EYAL ON F-F-F-FEUDIN’
Quick announcement on my part: I’m going on tour next week. I’ll be in Europe – woohoo! Lineup is Unearth/Chimaira/Throwdown/ and DAATH. Those of you on the board who live in places we’re playing, come out and hang. I’d love to meet you guys in person.
While on tour I am going to do my very best to keep “Jumping Darkness Parade” going as frequently as I can, but bear with me on this one. Tour is an all-consuming experience. I’ve got some ideas up my sleeves, though.
So anyways, onto what’s on my mind right now….
Who doesn’t love a good fight? I don’t mean this UFC wave that has all the wannabe tough guys paying Affliction Clothing’s bills. I mean celebrity and musician feuds. They have always been a hot topic of media and fan attention, and now that we get our news and gossip updated by the minute thanks to sites like this one or Blabbermouth or Perez Hilton, we can really get into it and form some pretty strong opinions. This shit is entertaining! I mean, do you guys remember Axl Rose vs. Vince Neil, or Axl Rose vs. Metallica? For those of you that don’t remember, look up some YouTube videos or check out A Year And A Half In The Life Of Metallica Part 2. That’s all about when Metallica and GN’R tried to join up for the biggest tour ever. All you can say to that is FAIL. However, there’s one hilarious part where Hetfield is making fun of Axl because of his ridiculous rider, and that part has stuck with me for over fifteen years.
How about Limp Bizkit Vs. Slipknot? I don’t remember what Limp Bizkit said about them, but the Slipknot response was “We will kill you.” Nowadays, you’ve got Dimmu Borgir vs. ex-Dimmu Borgir, or Slayer vs Megadeth, or Acacia Strain vs. Emmure, or Gorgoroth vs. Gorgoroth, or Limp Bizkit vs. Machine Head. And you can keep up with every little statement, every fan made video, EVERYTHING. These topics get A LOT of attention because they are sooooo entertaining to us. We are no different than the people who watch the celebrity gossip shows. We just pay attention to it on the Metal side of the fence.
Well, there’s another side of another fence that’s maybe not looked at or even thought about so much by the general public that I’d like to address. I think there’s one group of people who don’t find this type of attention to be very entertaining, and actually find it to be slightly uncomfortable.
Take this hypothetical situation. A band kicks out a member for being a fuckup. Part of said member’s personality is to be a drama queen shit disturber, and he issues a statement airing all dirty laundry and making the remaining members, and especially the band leader, look like the worst of the worst kinds of people. These statements make it to press. Blabbermouth, this website, The PRP, and maybe even print magazines. Word spreads and that’s how reputations are formed.
Now what if you’re the person or the group of people who were just humiliated or at least completely misrepresented in front of the whole metal community? How do you react? Do you take “the high road” and issue a bland and professional statement? That could be looked at as the “right” and “pro” thing to do, but what about all the fans out there that actually believe what was written in the estranged member’s statement and therefore think less of you and your band because of it?
Well, you could always respond with a statement of your own which clarifies the situation. But then you get accused of being a drama queen or unprofessional for airing more dirty laundry. So what are you supposed to do? Sit there and take it? Be cryptic about it? Tell all and risk the repercussions? What exactly is the right way to handle being publicly called out for bullshit in the press? How do you protect yourself without being labeled things you’d rather not be labeled?
How would you guys deal with it? And what if it was your fault, and you DID fuck up? Or what if the statement was nothing but bullshit? How would you react?
-EL
Remember the part where Eyal said that Daath about to hit the road with Unearth, Chimaira and Throwdown? Go check that shit out! Get tour dates by visiting Daath on MySpace!!!
