Ex-Voivod Bassist Accuses Former Bandmates and Manager of Fraud
Nothing causes band drama like money. Over and over again, we’ve seen bands and current or former members get into disagreements due to one party (usually the member) claiming that the other (usually the band) owes them a shitload of cash. It happened to Megadeth, it happened to Anthrax, and now it’s apparently happening to Voivod.
Apparently, ex-Voivod bassist Jean-Yves Thériault, AKA “Blacky”, believes he has been denied significant funds owed to him by his band and their manager, James Maclean of Talk’s Cheap Entertainment. According to a statement on Blacky’s website, Maclean and Voivod drummer Michel “Away” Langevin kept him “in ignorance of” funds paid to the band in 2007 in advance of the re-release of three of Voivod’s earlier records.
Blacky also claims he was “kept out of the decision making process” during his time in Voivod, and that 50% of his copyright for 2013’s Target Earth, which he cowrote, was “fraudulently diverted by Away and Maclean into a setup rights management company without any prior consent on his part.”
Interestingly enough, the bassist claims he’s actually already been paid $16,000 CAD (approximately $12,300 US) by BMG–money that had been “intentionally hidden for many years.” He goes on to say, “The news have been received with a sense that justice has been done.”
This feels like it has multiple sides to it. On the one hand, if Thériault is telling the truth, then Away and Maclean have really screwed him…sort of? That’s the problem: he basically makes it sound like they told him, “Don’t worry about it”, and he believed them. Which isn’t to absolve Away and Maclean of guilt, only to say that Thériault should have had a lawyer on this as soon as possible.
On top of that, if Thériault has been paid by BMG, then his statement is just him taking a moment to say “Fuck you, assholes” to Away and Maclean. And that’s totally his right, because hey, fuck assholes who don’t pay you what you’re owed. But all the grandiose talk of justice being done sounds pretty melodramatic in that light.
Anyway, point is, glad Thériault got paid, sucks he had to deal with this. We’ll see if the Voivod guys have anything else to say as they get ready for their new album to drop this month.
[via Blabbermouth]
