Is there a drummer curse hanging over Soundwave 2013? Promoters behind popular metal festival Soundwave must be pinching themselves this evening after it was revealed that yet another drummer won’t be joining the festival.
Dave Lombardo, longtime drummer and co-founder of Slayer, has been unceremoniasly dumped from the band’s Australian dates after a disagreement with other members of the band over their financial arrangement.
Lombardo broke the news in a message to fans posted on social media. In it he describe the move by Slayer as shocking and saddening, after he complained about the way money was being handled and refused to sign a new contract with the group which forbade him from doing interviews or making statements about the band.
You can read his full letter to fans below:
I want to personally apologize to all of our fans in Australia who have bought tickets for the tour expecting to see me in my usual place on the drums.
So that you all know the truth, as of the end of the business day on February 14th, I was notified that I would not be drumming for the tour in Australia. I’m saddened, and to be honest I am shocked by the situation.
Last year, I discovered 90% of Slayer’s tour income was being deducted as expenses including the professional fees paid to management, costing the band millions of dollars and leaving 10% or less to split amongst the four of us. In my opinion, this is not the way a band’s business should operate. I tried rectifying it by letting my band mates know, and Tom and I hired auditors to figure out what happened, but I was denied access to detailed information and the necessary back up documents.
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I spent the Christmas and New Year holidays realizing I had toured all over the world in 2012, but yet, had not been paid (except a small advance) or provided a proper accounting for a full year’s sweat and blood. On top of this, I was told that I would not be paid until I signed a long form contract which gave me no written assurance of how much or on what basis management would deduct commissions, nor did it provide me access to the financial budgets or records for review. It also forbade me to do interviews or make statements having to do with the band, in effect a gagging order.
Last Monday, I sat down with Kerry and Tom to rehearse for Australia and to propose a new business model that I felt was the best way forward for Slayer to confidently protect itself so we could do what we do best . . . play for the fans. Kerry made it clear he wasn’t interested in making changes and said if I wanted to argue the point, he would find another drummer. On Thursday, I arrived at rehearsals at 1 pm as scheduled, but Kerry did not show. Rather, at 6:24 pm I received an email from the lawyers saying I was being replaced for the Australian dates.
I remain hopeful that we can resolve our issues. But once again, I sincerely apologize to all of our fans in Australia who spent their money expecting to see the 3 of us original Slayer members.
I look forward to seeing you in the future.
UPDATE: Following Dave Lombardo’s issued statement yesterday evening, Slayer have now issued their own response that reads:
“Slayer confirms that Jon Dette will drum for the band on its Australian tour that starts this Saturday, February 23 in Brisbane. As regards to Dave Lombardo’s Facebook post, Slayer does not agree with Mr. Lombardo’s substance or the timeline of the events, except to acknowledge that Mr. Lombardo came to the band less than a week before their scheduled departure for Australia to present an entirely new set of terms for his engagement that were contrary to those that had been previously agreed upon.
The band was unable to reach an agreement on these new demands in the short amount of time available prior to leaving for Australia. There is more to the account than what Mr. Lombardo has offered, but out of respect to him, Slayer will not be commenting further. Slayer is grateful to its Australian fans for their understanding of this unfortunate last-minute change, and very much looks forward to seeing them at these shows.”
The news follows comments by Soundwave boss AJ Maddah a few days ago that ““Drummers are seriously ruining my week,” after Anthrax’s sticks man Charlie Benante bowed out of the festival for “personal reasons”.
It’s also the fifth time that a drummer has cancelled ahead of the Soundwave Festival; alongside Anthrax’s drummer, the list includes Blink 182′s Travis Barker (with Bad Religion/Tenacious D skins thumper Brooks Wackerman filling in), Six Feet Under’s Kevin Talley due to a bizarre ‘dirtbike mishap’, and long-time member of A Perfect Circle, Josh Freese, announcing he’d quit the band late last year.
The popular metal festival also had problems when Blood On The Dancefloor announced they too would be cancelling their appearance at the festival, though Maddah was “super pleased” with the announcement that the group would no longer be appearing before revealing that “No one really gave a fuck. They’d sold 6 tickets to their sidewaves and all I got from their cunty fans was whinging.”
Speaking of complaints, Maddah also affectionately labelled the concerns over timetable clashes as “whingefest 2013″ in attempts to revise their timetables, including in Perth where they were slapped with a 10pm curfew following a single noise complaint last year.
But it wasn’t only Perth that added new restrictions to the festival, operators of their venue in Sydney decided after tickets went on sale to place a MA 15+ restriction on the festival, forcing a flood of refunds and a second batch of ticket sales that numbered nearly 700.
Still, these issues are mere speedbumps to the seemingly unstoppable Soundwave juggernaut, which has continued to defy the festival marker glut, selling out in record time around the country and enjoying a mostly positive opinion from most patrons.
Soundwave 2013 Lineup
METALLICA/ LINKIN PARK/ BLINK 182/A PERFECT CIRCLE / THE OFFSPRING / PARAMORE / SLAYER / GARBAGE / CYPRESS HILL / BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE / TOMAHAWK / STONE SOUR / BRING ME THE HORIZON / KYUSS LIVES / ANTHRAX / KILLSWITCH ENGAGE / SUM 41 / DRAGONFORCE / ALL TIME LOW / FLOGGING MOLLY / GHOST / DUFF McKAGAN’S LOADED / BILLY TALENT / MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK / MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE / THE AMITY AFFLICTION / THE VANDALS / SICK OF IT ALL / KINGDOM OF SORROW / FOZZY / THE LAWRENCE ARMS / SLEEPING WITH SIRENS / CANCER BATS / THE BLACKOUT / GALLOWS / MADBALL / FUCKED UP / VISION OF DISORDER / PIERCE THE VEIL / PERIPHERY / THE SWORD / SHAI HALUD / OF MICE & MEN / THIS IS HELL / MISS MAY I / DANKO JONES / LUCERO / WOE, IS ME / THE WONDER YEARS / POLAR BEAR CLUB / WHILE SHE SLEEPS / CEREBRAL BALLZY / THE EARLY NOVEMBER / SUCH GOLD / THE DEAR HUNTER / CHELSEA GRIN / DEAF HAVANA / RED FANG / VERSUS THE WORLD / THE CHARIOT / CONFESSION / ORANGE GOBLIN / CHUNK! NO, CAPTAIN CHUNK! / SYLOSIS / MEMPHIS MAY FIRE / CROSSFAITH / NORTHLANE / SHARKS / O’BROTHER / MILESTONES / LIVING WITH LIONS
Soundwave Venues & Dates
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013
SATURDAY 23 BRISBANE, RNA SHOWGROUNDS
SUNDAY 24 SYDNEY, OLYMPIC PARK
FRIDAY 1 MELBOURNE, FLEMINGTON RACECOURSE
SATURDAY 2 ADELAIDE, BONYTHON PARK
MONDAY 4 PERTH, CLAREMONT SHOWGROUNDS
For more information head to www.soundwavefestival.com
