JUMPING DARKNESS PARADE: EYAL ON F-F-F-FEUDIN’
Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 4:00pm by Eyal Levi
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!!!
Brah listen anyone talks shit, dem bitches getting TWO brass knuckles that I bought at the Jamaican giftshop to the FACE.
BITCH
Brah?
“We will kill you.” I dunno how to answer your questions, but that made my day haha!
Actually, having a member kicked out of your band and this shit happening does suck. It happened to one of my buddies’ band. It was a weird situation. This guy was respected a lot in our local metal community and wasnt that great of a musician. So, that caused some shit when he was booted. Most of the shit was dumb as all shit is.
My band hasnt had any ex-member trouble yet. And would like to keep it that way. But if anything we’ve had conflicting personalities that couldnt exist around each other. And decisions had be made, when dealing with shit like that
All these bands that are feuding should have one big……wait for it…………..dance off.
Can you see it? Kerry King vs Dave Mustaine
Shit happens.
See ya tuesday Eyal, cant fuckin wait. You gonna hang around after the show?
Gonna hang around until the buses leave!
But what KIND of dance off? A Britney versus Justin dance off (think Matt Damon and Amy Poehler)? Or a West Side Story, Jets vs. Rockets, gonna-have-a-snapping-dancing-street-fight-kind of dance off? (The latter of which I happen to think characterizes most Republican versus Democrat debates, but then that’s a whoooole other thing.) Please specify.
Protest the Hero would win any kind of dance off..
Its Jets vs Sharks. Get your theater facts right.
I just laughed my mother-fucking ass off that you could correct me on that. Hell yeah! MY MAN!!!
Oh that would fucking rock, get Glenn Danzig who loves a good fight, Drogoth of Sothis, Jon Notveidt (if he were still alive), Any members of Naglfar, Bethlehem, Anaal Nathrakh, Gorgoroth, dancing with all those damn spikes, sweating bullets under all that leather, there wouldn’t be much dancing it would be a
spike fest. I wonder if any of then CAN actually dance? Axl probably thinks he can because he thinks he’s the shit. Well he is-he’s fecal matter decaying.
I just had an idea as i read this… I think I would sent out the professional statement to the press and then just take the bullshit. then I would try to get a live DVD to be issued. then you could take a moment out in the middle of the concert to tell what ACTUALLY happened in front of thousands of fans. boom, worldwide humiliation for stupid ex-member!
one thing is imagining, but would that actually be possible in reality?
Stopping a feud? Easy. Give Axl back his pacifier.
See you in Helsinki, Finland man!
See you there!
Hey eyal, this has absolutely nothing to with your post, but I was wondering how often do bands sell their CDs on tour? Do they sell out quick? How much does the band sell ‘em for? etc…
How often? Not sure but I see a lot of bands do it. We do it.
Do they sell out quick? I guess it depends on the popularity of the band in conjunction with how many total cds they brought and the amount of people at the shows
How much? Again, it depends on the situation but anywhere from 10 to 15
I vote for a dance off between Kerry King and Dave Mustaine
Shit Happens, but the feud i wish would end is beween Vinnie Paul, and Phil Anselmo
See ya Tuesday Eyal, cannot wait. You gonna hang around after the show?
Goddamned Network error, sorry for the repost
I think professionalism is still everything. If you’ve been cool and have a reputation of being professional in the past, a prima donna story from some scorned ex-bandmate won’t really hold water in the long run if you’ve had integrity and professionalism in the past. You don’t have to air dirty laundry, but a well thought out response that doesn’t take jabs but states the truth in a logical, believable way is still the road to take. It’s hard to take the high road all the time, but as accessible as everything is with the Internet and Youtube and news sites, privacy is really a thing of the past. Somebody is always watching, and when you have the public eye that close to you, you best be on your guard with everything you say and do, cause it can all come back to haunt you.
I think past behavior will dictate how believable the story from the “betrayed” person really comes off. On the other hand if you’ve got a past reputation for being a bullshitter, you will undoubtedly be regarded as one forever, usually no matter what you do to try and change it.
In short; Be friendly, be polite, be thankful, tell the truth, and most people will respect you.
It’s all a big bunch of shit as far as I’m concerned. Do you notice that Dave Mustaine and Kerry King are getting into a spat just around the time that their albums are coming out? Do you think that is a coincidence?
I have not and will not get caught up in this gossiping, he said/she said crap. It’s for the birds.
If you have posted on here or anywhere in response to these stories you are a loser. Just the same as the dumbasses that watch the celebrity shows Eyal was referring to.
There are better things to do. Trust me. Try going outside! Try reading a book! Try getting your dick sucked! Just TRYING to get your dick sucked can lead to two things.
1) You get your dick sucked
2) You don’t and have a funny story to tell about it.
All of these things are much more worthwhile. Don’t take my word for it. Get out there!
PS. I’m going to try and get my dick sucked this weekend. I’ll give you the update when available.
Tell your Mom i said what up
She said “Hey. I know I was on my period the last time you were over Hammer, so sorry for the taste. I didn’t know you were such a vampire!”
You’re gross dude.
Hey loser, I’m responding while playing guitar outside
Is “playing guitar outside” a new euphemism for masturbating in public? Don’t answer. I don’t want to blow up your spot.
Yes it is, but I can take a break and you can suck it if you want
It is? I was just making that shit up. I’ll only suck it if you take some old N64 games off my hands. I might include Goldeneye…….
“PS. I’m going to try and get my dick sucked this weekend. I’ll give you the update when available.”
I know a guy who could take care of that for you.
Would he trade for old N64 games?
Dude dont give it up for N64 games….jeezus
You think I’m giving too much? Hmm. Maybe you are right.
N64 games are off the table. I have an old bowling trophy that was shoved up a girls ass and never washed.
Final offer.
It’s probably for the best that you took the N64 games off the table… it’d probably have to be a good one, like Goldeneye or Zelda: Ocarina Of Time.
I’m sure if you go to Craigslist and look at the men seeking men section you could (A) get your dick sucked and (B) come out of with a funny story.
As for bands fighting, testosterone is awesome in that it gives us the NFL, but terrible in that it gives us idiot machismo that usually just hides (or highlights) male insecurities and small junk.
That’s not a bad idea and the old saying “a mouth is a mouth” echoes in my mind, but if I am cognizant I would rather a lady spit on my penis.
who would you rather have suck your cock- mikael akerfeldt or eyal levi? you have to answer.
I have to answer, but you didn’t say that I had to choose between those two only. I take pride in finding loopholes.
So, in light of that, I choose you Andrea. Can you deepthroat?
Update success
All you have to do is strike fear into your enemies hearts, am I right?
As far as the Limp Bizkit vs. Slipknot feud Eyal, I think how it all started was Corey Taylor or Clown from Slipknot heard from someone in their camp that Fred Durst, in an interview, referred to Slipknot fans as “the ugly fat kids”, which caused Clown and Chris Fehn to do the whole “We will kill you” thing or threatened violence against him. I also remember Corey Taylor in a 2001 interview with MuchMusic calling Fred Durst a great businessman but Is not an artist (video link below) because of how he pre-packages the type of music LB did and how it doesn’t feel real and genuine from Fred Durst. I think Fred Durst later on said he was misquoted in that whole “fat ugly kids” thing and said he enjoys Slipknot’s music. Or something.
I still remember from that same MuchMusic piece how Slipknot’s fans after the Corey Taylor/Clown interview jumped on the anti-Limp Bizkit bandwagon and some would even get “Fuck Fred Durst” written or tatooed on their arms. When George Stromboloupolos (Then with Muchmusic) asked these kids why they didn’t like Fred Durst, most of them couldn’t really give a concrete reason and would just reply with “Well, uh, umm, he’s a sellout. Yeah.”
Here are those video links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTH9n85z88I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARAVE9EEnnE
Slipknot fans are fat ugly kids
Not nice
I like Slipknot, and I’m a skinny beautiful adult
i love you.
p.s. I HEART SLIPKNOT!
I’m not a kid
Point taken
Hey, gorgeous (meaning Josh): Check your damn Facebook from time to time, will you?
Stay (sic),
A Mess of Pint-sized, Fully-Legal Hotness
I just checked the tour dates that Eyal was talking about and none of them are in the good ol’ US.
Brings up a good point though. Why is a killer tour like this one only in Europe? (Might be in the US later on, I have no clue) I hear the crowds are better and more enthusiastic in Europe. What say you Eyal? What side of the pond do you prefer?
Grass is always greener man
We’ve had killer shows and bummer shows on both sides of the pond
That said, we would love to have this package do a US run. It would totally crush.
If I was in any situation like those, I’d tell it like it is. I don’t think I sound too full of myself when I say that I’m generally courteous to people who in turn are courteous to me. I probably would not give a shit what the media thinks, and just say the truth. Everything is always blown way out of proportion, like how the media treated metal back in the day, or how they treat video games like Grand Theft Auto now a days. There’s a reason why things like metal and GTA become popular, maybe they should focus on that.
And personally, none of those people in those bands in those feuds you mentioned, Mr. Levi, are very well respected anyway. I mean, really, the only band people probably really respect is Gorgoroth, though I’m sure the homophobics now like to rag on Ghaal for being gay.
Gorgoroth? Well I guess disrespect would require a human being who knows who the fuck they
are of course.
It’s wonderful how you only respect Gorgoroth, and go on to spell Gaahl’s name wrong.
see you in oslo, which i think is a friday night. should be a great time
I guess in-band fighting is ok, as long as on one is shat on! I mean real fecal matter not just talking shit.
Eyal,
I like the post but c’mon lets be relevant the current times! Courtney Love and Dave Grohl are in the news NOW not ten years ago. Plus what better and more recent example of “airing dirty laundry” then her six hour non-stop Twitter-fest!
Anyways to answer the question in the blog, my opinion is that at least 90 percent of the time it is best to remain professional. I understand what you mean when you say that some things need a response but I think whatever the nay-sayer claimed will probably blow over more quickly if a tacit pro-solution is used because any more dirty laundry will only further cement the entire happening in people’s psyches.
Good example was the Metallica-GNR stuff you referenced. Do you honestly think you’d still remember all that as vividly if the second response to that was a stifling profesional shut down?
I said 90 percent ’cause I think sometimes you definitely want to say something.
Courtney Love vs Dave Grohl have been going at it in the press and legally for well over 10 years. This is just the latest installement
That’s a good point
Whenever one of these feuds happens, I always think the two shit-talkers involved should just put on a charity boxing match, get in the ring, and beat the piss out of each other, then have a beer afterward. Average guys get in fights at the bar or wherever all the time, then it’s over, they have a beer, and get on with it. These fuckers (King and Mustaine are good examples) get butt hurt over every little comment that’s made about them and will spend DECADES holding a grudge and talking shit. This is how high school girls deal with their problems. Real men either brush it off or duke it out and GET OVER IT!
Plus those boxing matches would be so much fun to watch.
In-band fighting is all fun and games until someone gets shat on! Literally…
In the words of Limp Bizkit, “it’s all about the he said/she said bullshit!” lol
Now is this article referring to when Sean Farber and Mike Kameron left? I think the best way to react is be professional and just say what really happened without being cocky or attacking anybody. Phil Anselmo has handled the Dimebag situation very well. He admits he messed up and he still missed Dime.
Did you ever hear of that feud that originally wasn’t meant to be a feud between The Dillinger Escape Plan and Disturbed?
The whole thing is on Blabbermouth and it was hysterical. It was something like the guitarist from Dillinger saying that Disturbed practices their stage poses during rehearsal not even as criticism, just from his observation. After that someone pretended to be the guitarist from Dillinger and called Dan Donnegan Dom Delewuise.
Addicted to Crack in the Skye. I’m a Crack in the Skyehead. Not to be confused with crackhead in the
skye. My new favorite Mastodon record.
Definitely NOT referring to our parting ways with Sean and Mike. We’re on good terms with both those dudes and nobody went on any shit talking binges. As cliche as it sounds, and you may not believe me, but I really just want those dudes to experience as much success and happiness as they can
Unraleted to the trend: you should play Incestuous amplification live….that’s song is a MF pit song. See ya!
We do sometimes
We did every night on the Dragonforce tour
We’ve been through that, and it is certainly quite shitty from the reputation point of view. Besides, there may be some conflicts within the band that get stirred up by the fired member. And there’s a huge drop off in terms of progress. Things like this distract you from the real work and make you devote time to dodging bullets. When this happened to my band (http://myspace.com/neuromist) and I had to fire our former frontman due to a personal conflict there was a lot of shit-talking and ultimately the conflict made it to the public, where people had to take sides. And that is quite a shitty moment, and it certainly was not very entertaining for the band. Especially, when you are a small band that tries to win over the audience’s attention and gives its best to get as better as it can. In turn you get bad reputation for being a band that fires its members, and you have to deal with replacements, legal warnings and so on.
Answering your question, Eyal, about the “high road” or the “drama queen”, I think that I chose a whole different way: giving the fucker all that he wanted and never seeing him again, without any accusations. When you try to move further and progress, you want to leave all the problems behind as soon as possible, and that’s what I did. “Shout all you want, we have some work to do here, so fuck off” – that was the attitude.
Hope you never face situations like this with Daath! And good luck with that awesome European tour! Too bad you’re not going to play somewhere near us…
Too bad you had to go through that. It definitely sucks, ads unnecessary stress, and distracts from the main purpose.
I think your philosophy towards dealing with that situation is right on.
hahaha We will kill you.. thats awesome!fuck shit talkers! pointless! but if my band ever gets big, i may use that just to get a rise outta people! thats all i would say… go up, say it and walk off…. XD
i have nothing to say
Hey Eyal! Thursday is Denmark and I’ll be there man! And you know what they say! the best smoke is from Denmark! ;)
Thursday it is!
Here is the video where James reads the rider:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTqCy-JOgp8&feature=related
I do agree with the fact that professionalism is everything: being professional shows that you know what to do and know how to handle things without risking any kind of public released conflict or any form of conflict in general.
It’s true that people will talk shit behind other peoples back and I know this for a fact: the guitar player of a band that I’ve been playing with from August 08 to May 09 has been and still is making bullshit remarks about me and the vocalist all because he doesn’t have the courage to talk to us about what his issues with us are. I have a lot of things (things that are TRUE) that I could say about him but to maintain a professional attitude I won’t make it public. Besides:I’d rather say it to him personally rather than make it public and have everyone look at me the wrong way. Things like that are better kept between those who are or were personally involved.
It’s kinda like II won’t say anything about it in retaliation for what he says about me because it’s not in my place. However, the bullshit remarks that are being made about me are good to know. How so? You realize how much of a better person you are and how low the other is sinking.
How the FUCK do you pronounce your name? Can I just call you “Station” like in Bill & Ted?
It’s always been my rational to approach these situations in a level headed fashion with a very dry sense humor as an undertone. Fueding/shit talking is silly and childish and should be met with an embarassing/dismisive retort.
Dude I can’t even pronounce my own name
And no…. Station won’t get a response from me
You can call me Jack if Eyal is just too hard
We have a song about this very subject . “KNOW FEAR”
http://www.myspace.com/voodooprophet
I always love it when you’re standing aroud waiting for a show to start and you hear people talking about musicans, feuds, and all that nonsense like they actually KNOW these people. “well see the thing with dave mustaine is you gotta realize that when he’s alone he’s not the same blah blah blah” “yeah but i hear kerry walked up to him and said…..”
i’m using shit examples but it’s weird. We form these “relationships” with these artists and “celebrities” and we then feel by welcoming part of them into our lives that we ourselves are fully in understanding of them as a person and their motives for doing things.
I admit it though, i was tmz sometimes and fall into the traps of reading the gossip. Notsomuch blabbermouth because the comments part tends to kill my brain, although like any “news” site occasionally something good will get posted.
Also even If a member takes the high road and makes a press release that is very civil and mature, it’s still not going to stop somebody from posting on a blog or sending blabbermouth’s news a story about how they “talked” to (said artist) at a bar, after a show, etc. and 9 times out of 10 it’ll get posted And unfortunately sometimes people get backed into the corner and a public comment or response to somthing is unavoidable
Seriuosly People get the fuck out there and hang with these guys they mean it !! Coolest band Around!
I take Gossip BS with a grain of salt Eyal, I think if some punk leaves spilling the beans he is the one who is the prick imo…whats said in the band stays in the band !!
Thanks Anton. We love hanging out with you too. Backstage in San Fransisco HAHA jesus
Anyways, I wasn’t talking about the band members we parted ways with after The Hinderers. This was more of just a general blog about the issue of butt hurt shit talkers and how to deal with them.
I think anyone in the public eye who feels the need to let their version of truth be known over a falling out or a parting of the ways should ask themselves if communicating it to the fans outweighs the consequences of airing dirty laundry out in the open. Fear Factory are a good case study for that. When they first broke up, Dino did an interview where he put the blame on Burton and called Christian replaceable. Within days, Raymond (who Dino hadn’t really dissed) issued a response refuting almost all of Dino’s version of events. From there they reform w/out Dino and issue an album where the title track lets him know the band is fine w/out him. Flash forward to this year, Fear Factory mach 3 is announced w/out explanation as to why Dino is back or why Christian and Ray are gone. Naturally, Christian and Ray talk about it to remind everyone they have just as much stake in the trademark as Burton and Dino and would fight to protect their interests. Of course, they conveniently left out the part about the love triangle between them and their manager, which prompted Burton to bail on them in the first place. Consequently, both Dino and Burton make that part of the story known, but Dino makes the mistake of challenging them to form their own Fear Factory a la LA Guns, basically confirming that Christian and Ray do have as much right to the name as they do. I bet he will regret saying that come court day. The point of all of this is that these guys at various points felt the need to address their professional reputations and issues publicly and probably not without cause. However, by giving out half-truths designed to make the other parties look bad, they opened the door for their bandmates to retort, resulting in a press war which ultimately painted them all as total high school drama queens incapable of being professional.
FUCK YOU FOR NOT HAVING THAT TOUR IN THE U.S.!!!!
Man…. if only right?
We would kill to do that tour in the US
Its a business. Your intentions were to improve the band, and if the band is your child, it is something HE WAS a PART of. Running a business takes sacrifice and decision. He should be happy to put DAATH on his resume. Having said that, nobody should listen to sore loser drama queens, so fuck it. Everything changes, better or worse. And, a personal hello to you, Eyal.
Well hello !
Already got my ticket for the gig in Osnabrueck (11/30), really looking forward to it!
I want Daath + Chimaira in Madrid, Spain!!!!
Is there anywhere close by you can come to?
do i detect a def leppard in “F-F-F-Feudin”? // F-F-F-Foolin…. wow
A few years ago, the drummer from System of a Down – John Something-ian – made an uncalled-for remark and slung an arrow at Quiet Riot. John’s remark: “QUIET RIOT made $20,000,000 apiece, and now they’re playing 500-seat venue shows to survive. That’s sad to me.”
I know everyone has their opinions of Quiet Riot (I personally loved them and still spin their albums) so I don’t really care what anybody has to say about them. System is not my cup of tea, but what really knocked me over was Frankie Banali’s response. (Here’s the link to both: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=48879)
Basically, instead of firing back at John’s unprovoked statement, he took the high road, made it a point to let each fan know they are appreciated, and ended his statement wishing John well! This makes for a non-story, but I think that’s kinda the point. Frankie’s professionalism made me a galvanized fan of his work and kept what matters most – the music – in the spotlight where it belongs.
Anyone who makes their music-liking decisions on a person’s ability to talk smack is in it for the wrong reasons. If I were to be in a band of any kind of stature, I would not want fans who follow the press more closely than the music and base their likings on how well someone’s mouth can spew diarrhea.
Anyone who insists on maintaining a firefight either through provocation or returned fire is a drama queen and knows nothing of unity. Metal is music, and in my opinion, music is a release, an expression of emotion, and the coolest art form out there. We need to stick together and help each other out. Metal is a haven for the misfits who were not wanted anywhere else.
Lastly, and this is like the the excessive cussing in music: anybody can engage in a flame war. We’ve all done it, and sometimes it feels good, but at what cost? Has anybody ever accomplished anything by throwing barbs at people? It takes a different approach and even an imagination to win in such a situation, and by focusing on making the best music possible and not fanning unimportant flames, the victory is easy.
Hi Eyal,
I think a dance off between Dave Mustaine and Kerry King would go off something like this…
Dave: “Kerry!!…. Kerry!! Come on out of your vanity van you pussy!! I wanna fight you High School Musical Style!!”
Kerry: “Fuck off Dave, I’m busy listening to some Carpenters and reading Cosmo!! Come back later!!
Dave: “Come on Kerry, I haven’t got all day!! You wanna do this or what?!!”
(Kerry comes out of his van)
Kerry: “Alright dingelberry, …. Lets dance”
Dave: “Name your song.”
Kerry: “ABC by the Jackson 5, motherfucker!!”
Dave: “Hah!! Pussy!! I knew it!! I’m gonna pick ‘There’s no business like show business’ – Ethel Merman, Bitch… the disco version!!”
Kerry: “But who is gonna judge, dickmouth?!!”
Eyal: “Hey guys! I dont mind judging… Lets do this!”
30 seconds into both songs…. Eyal pulls out a shotgun and BAM!!… Kerry and Dave are on the ground….
Eyal walks off singing “tomorrow, tomorrow…. I love ya… tomorrow….” lol!!
LOL Metallica/Guns tour. Who here actually went to that one? I saw it when I was in college in FL. IIRC, it was at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Mostly went to see Faith No More, Metallica, GNR. Was a crazy show.
On “shit-talkers”, etc:
I say take the professional/high road approach. Be honest, and address anything the shit-talker is saying about you in a non-confrontational manner. If it’s something you did that was “fucked up”, unless it will get you arrested or something, I say be honest and admit to it. Even apologize if it merits it. You’re only human.
If the statement is bullshit, call it as such. If you keep honest about everything else, people will be more likely to believe you when you call BS on someone else’s statement.
Refrain from taking revenge, even if you have a ton of ammo to use against the shit talker. I think in the end that’ll make you look like the bigger person, and lend you more respect/trust with your fans, the media and the public. I guess you can sum it up with the saying “honesty is almost always the best policy”. :P