Controversy never ceases to follow Norwegian black metal stalwarts Mayhem, from those legendary church burnings of the 1990s to member deaths and so on. Well, we've covered the whole saga, or at least until now.
According to a reporter sent by Metal Injection, the band's current - and first - North American tour was originally to be a "festival" dubbed Blackened Fest, replete with a string of opening acts. However, as the tour unfolds, it appears that each band is dropping off the bill, leaving Mayhem to finish up the final dates alone. A series of financial missteps, arguments and other difficulties have resulted in what is described as a "clusterfuck."
While the Metal Injection [via Brooklyn Vegan] blog follows what is happening intently, the whole sordid scenario is perhaps best related thusly:
"When a band drops a tour, it instantly voids the contract made between the booker and the promoter for each venue. In other words, whatever money that each band was originally supposed to get at the end of each show was changed when Marduk didn't show up. Because Mayhem was the headliner, they believed that they deserved their full guaranteed money still. They didn't realize that (the tour manager) had to renegotiate contracts with the promoter every night. With an extra bus to pay for and Mayhem still requesting the majority of the earned cash to match their original guarantee, the tour manager was left with no money to work with. The drivers didn't get paid and they weren't driving until they did. The support bands weren't making much money some nights, but were willing to hold out a couple days for cash. Unlike Mayhem, who wanted their full cash up front, every night."
After not being paid since the tour's start, bus drivers were apparently changing locks and threatening to leave everyone stranded. Cuts were made, bands opted to split and now Mayhem are the sole survivors, agreeing to fork over some cash to keep the tour afloat.
The remaining Mayhem-only tour dates are as follows (maybe):
6/11 Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
6/12 Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
6/13 Detroit, MI - The Majestic Theater
6/14 Toronto, ON - The Opera House
6/ 15 Montreal, QC - Les Foufounes Electriques
According to a reporter sent by Metal Injection, the band's current - and first - North American tour was originally to be a "festival" dubbed Blackened Fest, replete with a string of opening acts. However, as the tour unfolds, it appears that each band is dropping off the bill, leaving Mayhem to finish up the final dates alone. A series of financial missteps, arguments and other difficulties have resulted in what is described as a "clusterfuck."
While the Metal Injection [via Brooklyn Vegan] blog follows what is happening intently, the whole sordid scenario is perhaps best related thusly:
"When a band drops a tour, it instantly voids the contract made between the booker and the promoter for each venue. In other words, whatever money that each band was originally supposed to get at the end of each show was changed when Marduk didn't show up. Because Mayhem was the headliner, they believed that they deserved their full guaranteed money still. They didn't realize that (the tour manager) had to renegotiate contracts with the promoter every night. With an extra bus to pay for and Mayhem still requesting the majority of the earned cash to match their original guarantee, the tour manager was left with no money to work with. The drivers didn't get paid and they weren't driving until they did. The support bands weren't making much money some nights, but were willing to hold out a couple days for cash. Unlike Mayhem, who wanted their full cash up front, every night."
After not being paid since the tour's start, bus drivers were apparently changing locks and threatening to leave everyone stranded. Cuts were made, bands opted to split and now Mayhem are the sole survivors, agreeing to fork over some cash to keep the tour afloat.
The remaining Mayhem-only tour dates are as follows (maybe):
6/11 Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
6/12 Cleveland, OH - Peabody's
6/13 Detroit, MI - The Majestic Theater
6/14 Toronto, ON - The Opera House
6/ 15 Montreal, QC - Les Foufounes Electriques
