Jason Roeder Says He Was Unexpectedly Fired “Over the Phone” by Sleep’s Management

Earlier this week, we reported on a situation involving now ex-Sleep and Neurosis drummer Jason Roeder in which he posted online that he was done being a touring musician and was selling a lot of his equipment as a result. At the time, we didn’t know what any of this meant for those aforementioned bands, but today we got some further clarification from the man himself.

Though he started off his post trying to sell 113 sealed vinyl records as a single lot, Roeder quickly began clarifying his previous statement. The first clarification being a big one — he’s not actually done with music as a whole.

“To be clear, I have not ‘retired’ from music. There is nothing on this earth that I would rather do. Life got in the way. One day I hope to jump back in. My personal circumstances prevent me from being able to make that a reality. A career in music is treacherous. I bet everything on it and lost.”

That last sentence in particular is a bummer. Shit gets hard sometimes and I hope he can find his way back to doing what he loves if he’s still as passionate as he used to be.

But then again, it’s easy to understand why someone would feel discouraged or down on the whole process when you learn what happened with Neurosis and Sleep. In the same post, he explained how Neurosis pretty much just fizzled out of existence after firing Scott Kelly back in 2019 after the band learned of the vocalist’s severe acts of familial abuse. He also explained how he was “unceremoniously fired” from Sleep this past November.

“As far as Neurosis goes – I don’t know. The remaining members are truly amazing people and with or without me I am sure they will continue to do mind-blowing work, whatever form it takes.

“As far as Sleep goes, I was unceremoniously fired By Sleep’s manager over the phone back in November. I haven’t spoken to Al or Matt in months and that brings some peace to my life that I am thankful for.”

Roeder initially played with Sleep from 2009 to 2019 but then returned to the fold when the band reunited in 2021 until his aforementioned firing in 2024. As it stands, Sleep hasn’t addressed Roeder’s dismissal at all.

Here’s hoping that Roeder can get back behind the kit and do what he loves.