[Not sure if this has been posted or not. If not, here you go!]

Friday, September 19, 2008

HELLO KIDS.....IT’S STORY TIME
Current mood: LIBERATED
Category: LIBERATED Music


It has recently been brought to my attention that there is still conflicting information regarding the past concerning my "departure" from the band. I think I have been a man about this and have kept my mouth shut for long enough, but now….I think that it's time to lay some shit out for ya and end some of the speculation on what really happened. But before we get into that, let's make sure everyone is on the same page with a little history lesson...

As most of you know, I was with the band on the first two record cycles, that's right, Leave a Whisper and Us and Them, which encompassed about 6 years of my life. 6 years of my life playing in the band, writing music, promoting, sacrificing, and doing anything in my power to further the career and success of the band. It was during the Leave a Whisper days that the band really formed a bond as a unit and as a force to be reckoned with. This was also a time when we would go out every night and make believers out of the fans in the audience (with our LIVE show) and then go out and meet them afterwards, shaking their hands and eventually getting to know a lot of you fuckers out there. A lot of stuff happened during this period of time, to many things to mention, but one of the greatest achievements of the band was the fact that we left the road approaching platinum status for LAW, which has now sold over 1.2 million copies to date. We took this victory home with us and were very excited to make a new record. So, we only took a few weeks off and then when right in to record the follow up to LAW. It was at this stage that we would see the beginning of the end of what people knew and loved about the band. It took one person(do the research, I don't think it is necessary to mention his name here) involved in the recording of the new record a couple of weeks to totally drive a wedge between the members of the band and completely destroy the bonds we had formed. This person dissolved any and all respect we had for one another and made me in particular feel and look as if I was not "good enough" to be in the band and to play on the record. Keep in mind, I had co-written a huge hit ("CONTROL" by Puddle of Mudd- over 4million records sold) before even getting into the band and had written songs and played on LAW. Not to mention playing over 400 live shows in support of LAW. So, without going into too much detail, I was fucked over during the recording of Us and Them. This person was not the only person involved in this situation, there were others and there was also someone who could have stood up and fought for his band, but, unfortunately he didn't. So what did I do, I didn't quit after this, I sucked it up, pressed on and toured in support of Us and Them for the next 16 months or so. I think most people that were fans of the band knew that we were having some issues internally, from our behavior, from our performances etc. Unfortunately, NOTHING was ever done to make this situation better, no one ever tried to make things right between us.

So, that's the end of the history lesson, here goes the rest.

The touring cycle ended in January of 2007. It was at the end of January that I received a phone call from management, NOT BRENT, informing me that I was being relieved of my duties in the band, that's right, I WAS BEING FIRED. I did not or would not leave something that I dedicated that much of my life to, regardless of the situation and internal conflict within the band (believe me..I had opportunities..right Mr. Zombie?). The reason I was given was that "I never got over what happened in the studio and during the recording of Us and Them." Needless to say I felt let down betrayed and heartbroken. I know, wah wah wah, poor old me. I'm not looking for sympathy, I just want to describe the circumstances.

I feel like I have deep roots with the SD fans out there and I'm not writing this to make the band look bad, I am writing this because I think you, as fans and friends, deserve some answers. That and it has been brought to my attention that it is still unclear as to what happened with the band and that I was the one that "left" the band to do other things. It was that crazy Brandon fucker that made me want to post something. I know a lot of people might not like him but I have to give him props for having the balls to stand up and say something and not just accept the bullshit that is being fed to him. That and..like it or not, he's fucking DEAD ON about a lot of shit.

Since January of 2007, I have NOT spoken to Brent, that's right it has been a year and 9 months. I tried calling him during the time I was being fired and received no return phone call or correspondence.. oh except for them notifying me of my "expulsion" from the corporation. He did try calling me once in November but, unfortunately, I missed his call. I did call him back the next day and received his voicemail and then never heard from him again. I don't really expect to either as there's nothing really left to say. I never received any kind of severance package, no walking money or anything. I was fucking cut off like I never even existed. As most of you know, I do have a family and have shit to pay for like most people do. So not only was I fired from the band, but my whole livelyhood was cut off and I never even got a fucking phone call (from the leader of the band) to explain what the fuck happened. The last thing he said to me was..."it's all good man, I have your back."

As far as Zach is concerned,we have had some good times together man and I consider you a friend, hey man, you have a paying gig now, CONGRATULATIONS. I ran into you at band camp 2007 and I said to you "If they offer you the job you should take it." I would have done the same thing if I was you. That doesn't bother me at all. I still do wonder though why you take it upon yourself to speak on behalf of the band. A band you joined after 7 years of its existence. How would you really know what the fuck people are feeling and be able to speak with any credibility on behalf of Shinedown. Especially regarding things that happened before you were in the band. The reality is that I haven't heard or spoken to you since band camp 2007, this was over a year and a half ago. So, when you tell the fans that the band talks to me and Jasin all the time and that things are all good, they're NOT and you don't. The only person I have spoken to on a regular basis is Barry, who I still consider my brother and good friend. Barry stays out of the drama and is happy doing what he does best, playing drums for a living, and this I support him fully on. He is a real person and has always been straight and honest with me. It makes me realize what "Brotherhood" is all about, at least what it is supposed to be all about.

I won't really go into what happened with Jasin. I think he has already explained his situation, pigs eat the rotten (check his blog on his page), and will therefore stay out of his business and his story as to why he is no longer playing with SD. I will say though that, even though we don't speak or see each other that much, that I still consider him a brother and a good friend. If anyone knows what he is going through, on a professional level at least, its me. I hope that he finds something new to focus his creative and musical energy on. It would be a fucking shame if I don't see him rocking a stage in the very near future. You kick ass man.

Once again, I am writing this to clear up some of the things that have been said lately regarding what happened with the band and I hope I have done so. I feel that I have divulged enough information for people out there to gain some insight as to what happened. I did leave out a lot of personal shit regarding this matter and have done so because I believe it is exactly that, PERSONAL. There was a lot of shit that happened out there over the years some good, some bad, some ugly.

I appreciate the love and support from the fans and the friends I have made over the years. I love you all!! I am stoked that some of you have found my latest endeavours with AMARU and SOCIETY RED. I hope to be coming to your town soon. Until then, take care.

When you've read this, go onto Buffpants latest video, where he discusses a theory set forth by myself: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IApixqM_MaI

I may well go into it in greater detail later, but Buff does a good job of discussing the possibilities there. (There are two more parts to it, just FYI...)

Alright guys, I've been away for a while, and I came back at what appears to be an interesting time in the Shinedown world. Reading Brad's blog was really quite interesting and "Sheds a lot of Light" on a lot of things I've been wondering about.

HOWEVER, and as much as I admire a lot of you crazy people on here I feel the need to say this, you guys are getting a little FANATIC about this issue and Shinedown in general.

Brad's departure has been a mystery, I'm glad it is for the most part in the open despite some mitigating factors. But to go to the extent to talk about theory and intellectual evaluation is going really FAR.

A band member left his band because of some shit that went down. This happens in practically every band save a small few at one point or another. Look up almost any band on wikipedia and it will give you a list of ex-members.

It's a nice bit of info, good to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. (Not an insult, Brad, I promise.) But other than that, calm down people. This is a band. It happens. They are now a new band and you can like them or not based on their music. Personally, I'm not a fan of the change much, but SOM is still a kickass record and that's all I want to know.

Think of all the things you could be doing with the few hours a week some of you spend on these forums. It's great to show support for a band, quite another thing to go to the extent to involve yourself in the lives of the members of said band.

So keep it all in perspective. We are only fans, not family members of the band. A half hour video on the theoretics behind Brad's decision to leave the band and whether things are "rally as they seem" is a bit excessive.

I may get flamed for being a voice of reason, but since this is my first post in about 3 months I don't really mind.

Thanks for posting that. It's nice to read his side of the story... I'm sorry he went through that... Brad was always so nice and I loved to watch him play at the live shows... At the same time it doesn't make me feel any different about the band and the music they make. I don't really think it's good to try and figure out what went wrong... like anything in life...move on from the things that brought/bring you down !

Oh and those Youtube videos OMG ! WTF?

quote:

A band member left his band because of some shit that went down. This happens in practically every band save a small few at one point or another. Look up almost any band on wikipedia and it will give you a list of ex-members.

I think you've missed the point. Brad didn't LEAVE anything. He was fired.