Something In Reverse...

Now I wasn't there for this show, nor do I care to condone or even give light to 'diva' moments on stage, but this flooded my inbox today (as well as everyone elses).  Long story short, Falling In Reverse front man Ronnie Radke has (apparently) cleaned his act for many years now, after the legal problems that ensured after the death of former band mate when Radke was front man of Escape The Fate.  Falling In Reverse has created quite a buzz in the last few years, even so much as to grab themselves a headlining tour gig throughout North America dubbed "The Thug In Me Is You" tour.  They brought with them a good lineup of notable bands such as Enter Shikari, I See Stars and letlive.

Shit (apparently) went down a few nights ago when Radke ultimately decided to kick I See Star off the tour because of past drug infractions (members were arrested for marijuana possession during the All Stars 2012 Tour).  Not sure why that prompted them to be booted off this tour (once again, wasn't there so not going to speculate) but everyone seemed to have a piece to add to the puzzle.  Let's start with Radke's claim...

“I wanted to let everyone know I See Stars is no longer on the tour. We had offered them the tour several months back and then not long after we sent the offer, the entire band was arrested for drug possession. If you have been following my story, you know I am very serious about my sobriety and have been sober for 4+ years now. I decided to remove them from the tour at that time as I did not want drug users in my environment.

After we informed them they would no longer be on the tour for that reason, their label approached us and asked us to give them a 2nd chance, they assured us the band would not use drugs and they would be professional on my tour. We came to an agreement and I gave them their 2nd chance.

Throughout this entire tour, they have been unprofessional. They have rarely showed up on time and have caused undue difficulty on my crew plus employees of the various venues. It’s been next to impossible to keep the show running on time. I feel at this point we have no choice but to continue on without them.

We’re simply trying to deliver the best possible show to all you guys and we don’t feel like we can do that with I See Stars. We’re stoked to continue on with Enter Shikari, Letlive and Matt Toka (on select dates). I’ll see you at the shows. 

Love and respect, Ronnie.” -Ronnie Radke

OK, so we got one side down.  At first, I still had to ask (even before reading further) on why you would ask a band to tour with you and then ultimately kick them off for something sooooo minor such as weed?  It's not like these guys were trafficking pounds of it or anything, not to mention that 1/2 the continent smokes this on a daily/weekly basis but let's not go down that road (that would take forever).  The other thing that got me was the input of the other FIR band members.  The ONLY person that seems 'not cool' with this band is Radke.  Hell, these guys were busted at another tour, not even the one they were currently on. haha

And now for a dual rebuttle from both I See Stars as well as their management Sumerian Records...

"Months ago before 'The Thug In Me Is You' tour started, a cop found marijuana in our van. We were arrested. As a result, Ronnie said we were kicked off the upcoming tour.

All the shows on the tour were already on sale with our name being advertised, so we didn’t think it was fair to the fans or to ourselves to not be able to go play where people were expecting us. We offered Ronnie to play the shows for free so he could keep our pay every night of the entire tour as long as we could still keep our commitment to the fans, i.e. the people who are the reason any of this is even possible. Ronnie said OK and allowed us back on the tour but said that we would have to sign paperwork saying we would not tell anyone that we weren’t getting paid to be on the tour.

The venues and the fans were both not allowed to know the truth, because Ronnie knew it would make him look really bad to the world. The fact that money changed Ronnie‘s mind about kicking us off the tour just goes to show his lack of integrity. If he was really that concerned or fundamentally against that we got caught with a little weed, then the extra cash in his pocket wouldn’t have changed his decision.

Because Sumerian Records was willing to give us a serious amount of financial tour support, we were still able to hit the road without getting paid. However we would quickly find out that us agreeing to Ronnie‘s ridiculous terms of silence and playing for free were simply not good enough for him. He resulted to threatening violence against Zach in Grand Rapids because 'he didn’t like his stupid f’n face' and then the next night in our hometown of Detroit kicked us off the tour.

His 47-year old tour manager then physically assaulted our tour manager and the FIR camp once again resorted to violent behavior. Ronnie would later that night throw fans out who paid to get in to the show because they are chanting another band’s name and make fun of their physical attributes in front of everyone. That is the act of a true coward.


We have been lucky enough to to tour with a lot of great bands like Parkway Drive, Suicide Silence, Asking Alexandria, Trivium, Motionless In White, A Day To Remember, Stick To Your Guns, Memphis May Fire, The Word Alive and others.. and never had a problem. We want to thank Enter Shikari, LetLive, Matt Toka and all the other members of Falling In Reverse besides Ronnie for being great people and a true pleasure to tour with. We are sorry to all the fans out there who were expecting to see us. We’ll be back as soon as we can." -I See Stars

And if that wasn't enough drama in the situation...

"There is nothing cool, rock & roll, punk rock, or admirable about treating your peers or fans like they are pieces of garbage. Ronnie Radke is not a good human being. It’s one thing to love someone’s music, but do not love someone as an individual for who they are not. We do not think it is a coincidence this is the same guy who was arrested for the horrible, violent things you can read about in the links below.

He cares about no one but himself and he has reminded us all of this. His latest tweet 'people at our shows come to see us everything else is irrelevant. Nuff said.' is his way of telling all the other bands he tours with that they don’t matter. Why any artist would throw that type of negativity and disrespect out is something we will never understand. This scene is supposed to be about compassion and understanding. Ronnie is rotten.

Out of respect for the industry professionals involved in this debacle, we will not be publicly disclosing any legal documents on the internet. We can confirm that Ronnie kicked the band off the tour but allowed them back on after they forfeited their pay. We can confirm that they were being forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding this in order to stay on the tour.

We can confirm that I See Stars were not kicked off yesterday in Detroit because of anything to do with drugs. It was because a grown man was throwing a temper tantrum who claims to be “rock & roll” but is actually worse than a neurotic pop-star diva with a God complex. Just because you no longer do drugs doesn’t mean you are no longer a horrible human being. Ronnie now abuses people instead of substances." -Sumerian Records

So you got both sides of the story and some video to go along with it.  I am doing my best not to be biased because I have a great working relationship with the guys from Sumerian Records, but the video doesn't really help the cause.  Basically, I want to post this shit storm to remind musicians and fans alike that there is no need for anything like this.  The band got caught with some weed...OK.  Would we care to discuss the amount of shit that bands in the 70's, 80's and 90's had to deal with on a daily basis?  And yes, some of them were in the same boat, trying to steer clear of the coke, meth, heroin, and pussy flying at you on an hourly basis.  Where do you think the phrase "sex, drugs and rock n roll" came from?

Bottom line is everyone has flaws and everyone has their own personal tastes.  If a band smokes weed and you don't like it, then leave it at that.  There's no need to kick up drama and shit like this because someone doesn't agree with your lifestyle changes.  I'm sure there is more to be said, but I leave that to you.