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

"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."

This is EXACTLY why the mainstream industry is burning itself out. Being in the 
media industry, and talking to lots of people on the music side, the major 
labels are hurting, much more than they admit. And my prediction is by the end 
of the year we'll start seeing the mainstream falling apart. Sure, they'll 
always be a "mainstream", but it will be much different. It isn't downloading 
or "piracy" that's killing it, the main problem is for the past several past 
years the labels have been targeting such a narrow group of people and it's 
progressively become more and more narrow. Now it's to the point it's so narrow 
it's no longer making money, and they have alienated the rest of the music 
fans.  So now DVD's and video games are taking over, and most marketing 
executives on the music side were brought up on this "narrow marketing" they 
know nothing else, and have no idea of how to get out of it. 


----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Simon Jester 
  To: atlantaprog@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 6:38 AM
  Subject: [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







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