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

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!!

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.

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.

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

We did every night on the Dragonforce tour

I think your philosophy towards dealing with that situation is right on.

And no…. Station won’t get a response from me

You can call me Jack if Eyal is just too hard

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.

We would kill to do that tour in the US