Discovered recently that Electric Wizard were kinda dicks back in the day. “At the time, we were pretty bad people. I got arrested for arson of a car, outside a police station. Tim [Bagshaw] went to nick a crucifix off a church roof so we could use it onstage…”
R. L. Burnside killed a man “possibly at a craps game.”
Varg of Mayhem Burzum burned a couple churches and killed a bandmate.
I could list other examples, but would like to hear from other people and other music genres.
Weird Al Yankovic is… really just an all around awesome person and probably won’t show up anywhere on this thread.
weird al’s toxic trait is that he lost on jeopardy and hates bernie (he just wanted to see the twine ball!)
I dunno, him and Coolio had some beef in the 90s. When Weird Al parodied Coolio’s Gangsters Paradise with his Amish Paradise Weird Al didn’t do so with the consent of Coolio. Gangsters paradise was a deeply personal song to Coolio so he was understandably upset. As a direct parody it was protected under fair use but Weird Al didn’t feel right about it. So he reached out to Coolio, apologized and ever since then Weird Al has gotten the artist approval to parody their work despite the fact he doesn’t need to. Coolio did eventually come around and agree it was a pretty funny parody. Plot twist, (not really) that’s how humble Weird Al is, he didn’t do anything legally wrong and yet he still recognized he could do better.
That was all from a miscommunication- Al had his people reach out to Coolio’s people, and somehow wires got crossed. Al created it with the belief that he had Coolio’s blessing. Al has always asked permission, and a number of artists/songs have not been done because they would not grant permission. Examples include Paul McCartney (Live and Let Die/Chicken Pot Pie, because of his strict vegetarianism), Michael Jackson (Black or White, because he felt the message was too important), and everything by Prince.
While it’s never been tested in court, most of these parodies probably count as derivative works (i.e. permission is required) rather than protected fair use. A notable exception might be Smells Like Nirvana, since it was used to mock the original creator.
Edit: spelling
Al assumed that since Coolio’s people gave 100% approval they had cleared it with Coolio so it’s really on Coolio’s management…but Al being such a stand up human being felt bad as he wants artists to emotionally be ok with their art being used. I also suspected at the time Coolio manufactured a little outrage thinking he was being laughed at…wanting to seem tough. Although beefing with Weird Al is not very gangster lol.
I’ve always felt sad that Coolio didn’t appreciate (early on) how amazing the Amish Paradise phenomenon was, it kind of made him and his song even more immortal…and his life has always seemed kind of sad. Plagued by health issues, mental health problems, family and legal trouble, financial struggles, criminal involvement. He did keep making some music and touring, had 10 kids, was on some TV shows. Ran for President with a porn star. But he has never seemed like he was happy or enjoyed success. When he died of an overdose he was alone…like OD’s always are. They cremated him and didn’t even have a funeral. 10 children and none of them said no, we have to have a funeral for dad…? As a father that is devastating.
Don’t scare me like that!
I didn’t fall for it. I would’ve heard about it if he’d done something bad.
Cool answer, but ignores the question, no?
I wanted to inject a bit of wholesome into a question that will be littered with pedos, murderers and white supremacists. In the modern world it’s way too easy to focus on the negative and forget that some people actually do live up to your expectations.
I didn’t just want to troll with an off-topic response but make sure there was a glimmer of hope.
Well, I was glad to read your contribution!
So, I’m the moderator of !ClassicRock…how do you want me to start the list? Chronologically, quantity, severity??
Severity Top 5
How about in order of “Most Pedophilic” to “Least Pedophilic”. I’m aware that this list will be pretty top-heavy
So Gary Glitter is gonna either start or end the list…
jimmy page too, with his 13 year old girlfriend that he kept locked in a hotel
Never heard that one. It’s pretty common knowledge that Bowie, The Stones, Led Zeppelin and all of the massive stars of that era were fucking teenage groupies that followed them but 13…….eek that’s a few notches worse.
i believe page was 29 years old too, so its an even bigger gap. and it wasnt just casual sex dude was “dating” her (basically keeping her captive in his hotel room)
Yeah let’s go by severity
Well, if it’s shitty things you want: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Matthews_Band_Chicago_River_incident
never forget
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Passenger boat Chicago’s Little Lady was hosting the 1 p.m. Chicago Architecture Foundation tour of the Chicago River.
all passengers were issued refunds.
The boat’s deck was swabbed by its crew, and service was resumed for its scheduled 3 p.m. tour.
This boat crew is the most metal thing in this entire post.
What probably happened is that the boat absolutely stank, and they decided not to tell the people at 3pm what had transpired
Stench? That’s just the river.
On August 8, 2004, a tour bus belonging to the Dave Matthews Band dumped an estimated 800 pounds (360 kg) of human waste from the bus’s blackwater tank through the Kinzie Street Bridge in Chicago onto a passenger sightseeing boat sailing in the Chicago River below.
800 pounds?! How?!?!?!
Oh… fuck
Oh… shit
Arguably their release with the most lasting cultural impact
Came in here to mention how much a of a dick Maynard was to a seamstress friend of mine. It was an hour or so before showtime and she had the audacity to replace the button on his vintage leather Cavaricci pants with one that wasn’t an actual Cavaricci button. He treated her like a foolish peasant that should have been more prepared to deal with an elite. Seems kinda light considering the other posts, but anytime I can call him out for being a dick, I’mma do it.
Edit: a letter.
Yeah I am a bug fan of his music, but I can 100% see Maynard being a bit of a dickish prima donna. I guess they can’t all be real ones 😞
Tool were my favourite band for many years. Actually not surprised Maynard is a dick, too much fame.
Tool has been my favorite band for ~25 years now. I’ve been a fan through nearly their entire history and if there’s one thing that’s been a consistent element of the band, it’s that MJK is a fucking prick. No two ways about it. He’s a little shit with a HUGE ego and he’s just not a pleasant human. Creative as hell and damn good at what he does but a massive massive dick head. He’s not the reason I like Tool though and I wouldn’t even call myself an MJK fan, I dislike him in a lot of ways but when it comes to him, Danny, Adam and Justin laying down some badass fuckin jams, no one does it for me like Tool. Danny and Adam especially. They are the core of Tool for me and I think MJK gets waaaaay too much credit for the band.
Spot fucking on.
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I used to love Avenged Sevenfold back in like 2005/2006. They used to fly confederate flags at their concerts, and even had custom guitars with the confederate flag panted on them. Back then I didn’t understand the significance of that, but that’s really fucked.
At least they have apologized for it and said they regret doing it. I believe people are capable of learning from their mistakes, but tbh, I haven’t kept up with them so I’m not sure if they have truly become better people than they were back then.
I never knew that about them. I casually enjoyed a few songs here and there when I heard them and thought they were good but not really my genre of choice. I really respect that they apologized and changed behavior. As somebody in my mid 30s and was therefore mid teens 20 years ago, I also was unaware of the hurt and hate involved with things I saw and said and did at the time. But you’re right, it’s important to be capable of learning and growing and changing behavior and apologizing for the damage done. We all make mistakes, and to pretend otherwise and deny ones own mistakes is a sign of immaturity and responsibility.
As someone also in their mid 30s, I think a lot of people really misunderstand how the confederate flag was viewed so casually by many people up until recently. It was always offensive to some, but I genuinely was unaware of that as a teen growing up in the 2000s. It was just an image of being kind of edgy and rebellious but I genuinely didn’t think much of it seeing any band using them. Watching Skynyrd or Guns N Roses videos of live concerts? There were “rebel flags” pretty often and I just kind of let it go. It meant nothing to me.
I was in my mid 20s, probably, when it really was explained to me how insensitive that can be. I never associated it with racism or slavery up until that point - and I’m pretty sure that’s the same thought that a lot of these bands had. The absolute best thing to do is exactly as you said: own up to it, change your ways, and grow.
Yeah that’s how many viewed it in Texas afaik, growing up it was more a “rebel” flag then a, “I’m a racist piece of shit who wants the south to rise again” flag.
Still probably better to leave it in the past.
There used to be tons of confederate flags in music, even Tom Petty had them on his stage.
Wasn’t one of my favorite bands, but Iistened to them regularly.
Lead singer of As I Lay Dying hired someone to kill his wife. (Guy he hired was actually a cop, so he went to prison)
Oh shit, that’s crazy
Fucking Tim! I don’t like As I Lay Dying but I LOVE Austrian Death Machine (another band of his). Sucks that they’ll never make any more music. Arnold Schwarzenegger themed metal is great. NEEAAAAHHHH! GUITAR SOLO!
Came here just for them.
I was really sad when I had to stop streaming Austrian Death Machine.
I grew up on a lot of metal bands, including Iced Earth. Absolutely loved them, even saw them open for Megadeth as a kid.
Then Jon Schaffer went and proudly participated in the Jan 6 attack, so now it’s kinda hard to listen to their music anymore.
Also hard to listen to Megadeth these days, too. Partly because they stopped being good after Risk, but also partly because Dave Mustaine turned into a born-again Christian nutjob.
In hindsight, Jon Schaffer might’ve been a total dick all along considering the huge turnover in IE’s lineup over the years. He’s probably horrible to work with.
Also, looking back, his lyrics about hidden societies fucking shit up for humanity leave a sour taste in my mouth given that he fell in with the whole Q bullshit.
Damn shame because I loved me some IE but now it’s hard to listen to.
Yeah, it definitely puts a bad spin on the Something Wicked story they’d been telling. Which is a shame, because it was cool thinking it was just about aliens and magic curses and shit, but now knowing that he probably believes there’s more truth to that story than he lets on, it just doesn’t feel the same.
Gotta watch out for “hidden societies” because it’s almost always a dog whistle for Jewish people
Oh yeah absolutely. It’s wild how much of this shit comes back to old-fashioned antisemitism when you know where to look.
At least he fired Junior for uhhh… palm muting on his bass.
uhhhh if you’re going to mention Megadeth, it’s probably better to focus on how they kicked out their bassist for grooming underage girls in 2021.
Was a big fan of eric Clapton but I learned later in that he’s racist so now his music leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I regret seeing him instead of Chris Cornell. I was sure clapton would go before Cornell :(((
Knowing he’s a racist makes it interesting that he made a living off of playing music invented by black people. Also makes it even sweeter that Hendrix destroyed him on stage while jamming with Cream.
It just says that he values money above everything else. Racism is #2.
BB King seemed to disagree that clapton was racist but kinda hard to say that when clapton went on that rant
Back when I was a teenager I loved Lostprophets. I didn‘t hear about Ian Watkins becoming one of the worst people in Wales until a few years after they disbanded.
Crystal Castles is also pain listening to nowadays with Alice and Ethan.
Forgot about Crystal Castles, that’s definitely a strong contender for the top shitty place
What happened with Crystal Castles?
Ethan Kath abused Alice Glass enough to the point of her just up and quitting the band. She was only able to come forward when she found four other women who were abused by Kath .
Learning that Rick Derringer and Billy Corgan were guests on The Alex Jones show was a big let down for me
dammit, billy what the fuck
Corgan also put the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on Tyrus who is a massive outspoken transphobe.
I was real excited to see smashing pumpkins live but ended up leaving 7 minutes into his opening rendition of the national anthem because fuck that.
Doesn’t Corgan also have a history of beating his partners, going all the way back to high-school girlfriends?
I’ve never heard that
deadmau5 used to be a massive internet edgelord for very much over a decade (think the targeted harassment of Krewella was particularly awful, even if their producer shared his lawyer) until he had some heated moments that forced him to realise he wasn’t all there and change his ways. He’s still very truthful about the world of EDM but he’s not the edgelord he once was, and he’s much better for it.
ED(M)dgelord
Wouldn’t say I was a big fan of them at the time, but LostProphets.
Ian Watkins is currently serving a 30 year sentence in prison for multiple child sexual offences - incredibly vile shit.
Apparently people had suspected he was a nonce long before he was arrested.
Many former fans went so far as to burn merch, trash CD’s and pretty much disavow the band once the news came out. His former band mates dissolved the band and started No Devotion in its place.
Came here for the Ian Watkins comment.
Haven’t found another band close to sounding like Lostprophets and it sucks.
Should have been death
Iced Earth guitarist was one of the first ones in the door on January 6th. The band pretty much said they disagree with his actions,but not his intent.
Guitarist from Manowar in trouble for being a pedo.
Years ago, Zazz Blammymatazz had a song about getting head from a 14 year old.
Iced Earth guitarist was one of the first ones in the door on January 6th. The band pretty much said they disagree with his actions,but not his intent.
They said nothing about agreeing with his intent. They condemned his actions and left it at that.
It’s also hard to say “the band” as Schaeffer is iced earth. He has been the only constant member and to my understanding owns the rights to their iconography and etc.
Yeah. This is the one that came to my mind.
Dude straight up ended his career. His band members left, label dropped him and his colabs said they wouldn’t work with him anymore.
Turns out he was a lieutenant in the oath keepers and the FBI grabbed him. Last I heard he made a plea deal and got put into the witness protection program.
He is the band and it can’t exist without him. Even if he could continue, he’d have to rebuild it from the ground up.
It’s a shame, I really Loved Demons and Wizards, the iced earth / blind guardian colab group.
… Based on some song lyrics I feel I should have seen this coming when looking back though.
Iced Earth was one of my favorite growing up, but I don’t think it hit as hard because I had discovered so much better USPM in recent years. IE had kind of stagnated after Barlow left the first time.
I’ve only ever known Jon Schaffer to be an arsehole.
Years ago I was freelancing for a German heavy metal fanzine. That zine was attached to a record label, and for a few years ran a festival in its own name. The one year, Iced Earth and Nevermore, who were touring together at the time, were slated to be the headliners. Iced Earth were touring the Dark Saga album, and Nevermore had just released the In Memory EP, so must have been around '96.
I remember having a pleasant conversation with then Nevermore guitarist Pat O’Brien, who was happily browsing the label’s CD stand - dude was big into Death Metal. I remember Jim Sheppard accidentally burning my hand with a cigarette and apologising for it. But what most stuck with me was Schaffer sending out his tour manager to order us to remove all CDs that weren’t of bands playing at the festival. Original quote from the tour manager: “Jon ist schon tierisch sauer” - Jon’s really pissed off.
Through the years Schaffer revealed more and more of his personality, culminating in him joining the Capitol invasion. I can’t even get myself to listen to my favourite Iced Earth album (“Something Wicked”) any more.
I agree, really turned me off to the band, although I will throw on Demons and Wizards from time to time.
Hansi seems nice enough at least.
(please don’t turn out to be a dick)
I don’t think I would handle that well, if Hansi turned out to be a garbage person.
K-K-cocaine is one hell of a drug.
The time Josh Homme kicked that lady in the face
Also this fucker (bassnectar)
I’ve dabbled in listening to EDM more frequently, and when I heard Chasing Heaven by him, I ran up to my roommates who proceeded to open that can of worms… never heard of the guy before that, and won’t listen to him again. Sick fuck on so many levels. The CP is a new one from what I knew then.
Dam, I enjoy a bit of Queens of the Stoneage from time to time.
Band fucking rocks. I don’t know the story of the kick here but he’s a fucking rock star. Don’t go to a show and think you won’t get kicked
He’s still one of my favorite musicians to be fair…compared to most people in this thread he’s golden
Lol he did it intentionally and she was a photographer for the concert. There’s a video of it you can see. He’s clearly being a dick. You shouldn’t be expected to get kicked in the face at a rock show???
I used to enjoy Lostprophets
Was going to comment this one.
Smh. So gross.
I’m out of the loop here but I’m not sure if I want to know what happened
Ian Watkins, the lead singer, is now in prison for sexual abuse of children. We’re not talking the typical groomer here, he actually raped kids as young as toddlers. He’s a monster. A lot of their songs are absolute bangers, but knowing about him makes it hard to listen to them.
The rest of the band (to my knowledge) are decent, though. They broke up the band upon learning the truth about Watkins, and has since formed a new band.
Oh yikes. That’s just… Yikes. I’m glad the rest of the band got out of there, that’s just absolutely appalling and horrible
Lead singer was a Cat 5 pedo. Was caught trying to organise baby rape.
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One member was a pedo and went to prison. He is still there IIRC
I thought that one might come up.
