[atlantaprog] Re: Thoughts From Doug Pinnick on King's X Future

Thanks Phil, yes this sounds like the cold harsh truth for a lot of bands
out there. I'm going see them play tonight at Smiths Old Bar in Atlanta.
These guys put on one of the best live shows for a trio, the vocal harmonies
are the best in the business.
Hal


On 5/22/06, Phil McKenna <theowlwatches@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: 

*KING'S X frontman Doug Pinnick has issued the following statement in
response to rumors that the band were on the verge of breaking up:*

"I wish I could set down and answer all the questions, and speculations. I
will try to make light of some of the things said and suggested. You guys
are wonderful so please dont take anything I say as negative or bitching...
There's no anger here... just love.

"Here goes... We never fit in; no matter what we do, we can't get the
masses on board, and we've done everything there is. I know you all have
suggestions of what we could do do get more successful, but we have done
everything there is to do! Or at least inquired about it all... We just
can't get the folks on board. Woodstock '94 we played for 300 thousand
people, and the next week on SoundScan we sold about 200 CDs. Then the week
later nothing to comment on.... The rest of the bands on the bill - JACKYL,
SHERYL CROW, LIVE, CANDLEBOX, etc. - sold millions!!! We got the best slot
of the day, and USA Today, Howard Stern, MTV said we were the best band that
day! We sold nothing... and it changed my life. I cut my hair and almost
gave up! Plus I was going through midlife crisis. I started getting panic
attacks and got blinded by my self-hate. 'Ear Candy' was the result.

"Management? We have had people check us out and they say were doing a
better job by ourselves than they could... after they see what we have to go
through to get a gig and keep the boat afloat. Others say we're precieved as
an old band and they feel they can't help us.

"Record companies? We tried to give Atlantic a done CD with nothing to do
but throw it out there. They passed, saying they are only interested in new
young bands. ALL other companies rejected us except Metal Blade and
InsideOut. Thank the gods for that...

"Booking agent? They say they can't get many promoters to bring us; they
all think they will lose money...

"DEEP PURPLE? were trying to get on that tour, and any other opportunity
we can... but we have to pay to play, it's all political... That's the way
all bands are treated now, they all pay, Ozzfest... The record companies pay
to get all the bands on the tour. We don't have the $$. We opened for many
bands in the past to no avail. A few new converts, but not enough...

"Paul Shaffer [of the 'Late Show with David Letterman'] plays 'Born to be
Loved' all the time... but to get to play live on the 'Letterman'show?
Practically impossible.

"I wish you all could understand how impossible the situation is these
days for many bands. It sucks! The rejection to KING'S X is overwhelming in
the music marketplace. You can imagine how it makes us feel.

"Christian music scene?? Yeah, we could have been maybe the biggest band
in Christian music, but we're not hypocrites, and when the Christians find
out that we drink, smoke weed and I am gay, they would turn on us anyway, so
why go there? That just hurts. Besides that, they rejected us anyway after
they learned who we were. They're human, they hide it. We're not like that,
we're too honest. That's why I am down on Christian music. In the name of
truth they live lies. That's never been me, or
KING'S X. It's one of our biggest faults. The Christian music scene was a
dead end for us no matter what had happened in our career. I am agnostic now
anyway. We just couldn't justify being a Christian band. It just wasn't the
truth. I was raised Christian and have seen the Christian music scene
first-hand. I can't be a part of it and I couldn't back then either... and
we're still called a Christian band to this day. It wasn't kosher back then
either. I remember so many people saying that
they couldnt get their friends to listen to KING'S X 'cause we were
Christian, even though STRYPER were successful. Now it's accepted being a
Christian band, but we're not one of those bands. What's done is done and
it's the past...

"Downhill career? 'Manic Moonlight' was a good CD; I don't care what
anyone says... I put my heart in that CD and wrote some songs that I am
proud of. There was some wasted space on it, but isn't that the way most CDs
are? We really did our best with what we had and who we were at the time.
This band started out downhill, now we're in a hole. We couldn't get the $
for a producer for years, so we did it ourselves; at least we
tried. Then we paid for Michael Wagener out of our own pockets, and
finished the CD paying for it ourselves. We are really trying to do the
right things, but all we get are walls. There's only so much we can do
without money, record company support and attendance. We have maybe sold a
million CDs combined from day one! That's not many in the real world. And
Atlantic put millions into promoting us. More than most we have had the
oportunity for exposure and we got it.

"I know some of you think there's things we should be doing, but trust me,
we have tried or checked out all the possibities, it's just not as easy as
you may think. We need all-ages shows, and it's almost impossible to get
them. That's just fact. It sucks playing at such late times when people have
to go to work or drive hours to attend. We always ask for early shows and
all ages, it just doesnt happen. Bands that are successful without airplay
or much promotion? It's a mystery. We're doing what they did and here we
are. We're going home from this tour broke. I get no $ when I am off tour, I
have to fend for myself. That's
life, I guess. Same as everyone else, I wish it wasn't so...

"25 years of doing this with KING'S X... Even in the early days before the
record deal, we couldn't get good attendance doing covers when the other
bands we competed with packed the clubs... It's always been this way, we
just don't appeal to the masses. Maybe if we had about 10 million to promote
us??? But there's no guarantee. We're precieved as an old band in the
marketplace that is well respected but not a moneymaker. Bands try to take
us out with them but their management always reject us. We may not tour for
a while because of all of this...we can't.

"We have made mistakes, for sure, in our career, but we have really tried
to do the right things. We're not the same people as we were when we started
this band, and we always try to do our best and make the best music we can.
Sometimes it didn't seem like it was the best effort at the time, but if you
were there, you would understand.

"We are so thankful for the support from the faithful. We wouldn't be here
if it wasnt for all of you people. The band is really down these days,
frustrated, and out of money and ideas that will work. We're not young
upcoming wide-eyed kids anymore, and this music biz is obsessed with youth.
The whole U.S. is this way, just look around.

"It's not over untill the fat lady sings, they say... Well, she's at the
mic...

"I have had a wonderful adventure being in this band and being me. I have
been blessed more than most. I take nothing for granted. We could go on and
on about what we should do and what we haven't, but at the end of the day,
we have done the best that we could with what is before us.

"We're not done, we're not breaking up... We're still hoping to be the
biggest band in the world, and I have many more songs in my head and on
demos to throw out there for you guys... good or bad, you can decide. I will
make music as long as I can breathe.

"I have questioned my whole life and this band's place in the world. It's
still a mystery to me. This band I have invested 25 years of my life to...
and I think about my place in this more than anyone could possibly know or
understand... and still don't know why no one really gives a feck on a major
scale. And people wonder why I have low self-esteem. I am one of the biggest
losers that there is, and I don't know why. No one in KING'S X knows why it
hasn't happened for us... but I will keep doing what I do because I know
nothing else and I love making music.

"Thanks for letting me ramble. Thanks for hearing me out. And like I said
before, without you guys I probably wouldn't be alive. Thanks for saving my
life. I love you all. Keep the faith. It's not taken for granted."


 *Hoo Hoooo  Hoo Hoooooo*

*Phil*

*http://www.geocities.com/theowlwatches*

* <http://www.geocities.com/theowlwatches>*

**

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