It's no secret that my heart belongs to I See Stars so this post is going to be biest. Fair warning. Anyone who knows me know that I'll always have a soft spot for them. I mean, I have their logo tattooed on my back! I'm a fan for life! I still listen to other music, though. I'm no one trick pony. Like Falling In Reverse for example. They're a pretty good band, right? And their front man and founder, Ronnie Radke, seemed to pull it all together after his time behind bars for MURDER, right? He has been sober for 4+ years so that should count for something, right? Well apparently Mr. Radke isn't working his sobriety properly. He's gone from abusing substances to abusing people. Here's what I mean.
"The Thug In Me Is You" Tour with headliner FIR kicked off not too long ago. I See Stars was one of their opening bands. ISS was asked specifically by Ronnie to be on the tour. Then, suddenly, on November 2, 2012 (the drummer for ISS, Andrew Oliver's birthday), ISS was mysteriously kicked off the tour by Ronnie. His timing really couldn't have been any worse because guess where the tour was scheduled to play that night. Detroit, MI. And take a guess as to where ISS is from. That's right. So you see the idiocracy behind the timing of Ronnie's decision. On that same night, Ronnie posted a status of FIR's Facebook page that reads as follows:
"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."
The same night, ISS posted their own status. It reads as follows:
"We have been kicked off the Falling In Reverse Tour by Ronnie Radke. It has nothing to do with "drugs" or "being late" His statement is entirely false. An official statement from Sumerian Records showing the truth of why we were removed is coming. All emails and contracts have been documented and will be shown publicly in the response to Ronnie's post. You will find out exactly what happened and you will be disgusted to say the least. We promise you us getting ejected today has absolutely nothing to do with his lies about drug use on the tour or being late. It has everything to do with Ronnie's antagonistic violent behavior towards us, his ego, his malicious intent, his financial greed and his demands of no one being allowed to know the truth behind the scenes of this tour."
Finally, the next day Sumerian Records posted their own press release explaining their side of the story. Here it is.
"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 th
e
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
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"
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
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"
In true FilthFriend fashion, ISS fans are not having this. Once they heard what they believe to be the real story, they're now in an uproar! ISS fans are still showing up at the dates on the "Thug In My Is You" Tour and representing/supporting ISS...hard! It's really getting to Ronnie, too.
See what I mean.
Nov. 2, Detroit, MI
And then again.
Nov. 3, Clifton Park, NY
Here's what some of the kids who got ejected had to say.
Now, for many fans this has proven to be quite conflicting. Who's lying? Who's telling the truth? Who's right? Who's wrong? Do I pick a side? Do I stay out of it? Should these people's personal lives and feuds effect the way I feel about them and their music? It's a lot to ask yourself. I'm sure there's no need to tell you how I feel, but I want to know about you.
Question for you: In this scenario and going by these statements and videos alone, who's right and who's wrong? Why?
Tell me what you think!
TEAM I SEE STARS ALL DAY!
-BlairieLouHoo
p.s. If you're Team ISS like I am, join me in supporting them! Check me out on instagram @Blairielouhoo. I've been wearing #ISS merch for the past week in support of them. If you'd like to join me, be sure to use the following hashtags so I can find and follow you! #filthfriendsunite #filthfriendforlife #ISS #iseestars #7daysofsupport
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