MADBALL BANISHES MAX WEINBERG’S KID FROM THEIR EMPIRE

Some months back, upon learning that Madball had recruited Jay Weinberg (a.k.a. the son of E Street Band member Max Weinberg) as their new drummer, I kept my mouth shut while others in the metal and hardcore community latched on to the novelty of it. I saw his inclusion in the band as somewhat negligible, considering the NYHC act’s long tenure. Founder/frontman Freddy Cricien, longtime bassist Hoya Roc, and guitarist Mitts have honed the band’s metallic hardcore sound, and no drummer — no matter what his pedigree — was going to dramatically impact Madball. Apparently though, Weinberg hasn’t been a great fit with the respect-centric act and, according to a press release, his membership has been revoked — in the middle of a Canadian tour, no less!

In the words of Freddy Cricien himself:

“I’m letting Jay go in Canada because I just feel he doesn’t represent this band well on a character level. It would go against my own code of ethics to keep him around. Not saying he’s a bad drummer. I won’t take that away from him. But the reality is – he has a lot to learn about paying dues, and about life in general. Granted, he is a kid, but I’m not sure that he’ll ever be built for this particular lifestyle. I wish him the best of luck, but the MADBALL machine rolls on!”

Wow! That’s some not particularly veiled criticism of the 20-year old drummer by a veteran of the hardcore scene as well as touring. I wonder what the issue was. Did Weinberg turn out to be some sort of primadonna about touring conditions? Was he irresponsible or engage in behavior antithetical to being in Madball? What could he have possibly done to violate Cricien’s “code of ethics”? Fortunately, this wont affect the rest of the tour with Comeback Kid or delay the October 12 release of Empire. A new track from that record — featuring Weinberg on drums — was just released, and you can check it out here.

-GS