SLAYER, the beginning of the end...

Discussion
1

this just showed up on Dave Lombardo’s facebook and 2nd band PHILM’s pages…

Statement From Dave Lombardo Regarding Slayer Australian Tour 2013

I want to personally apologize to all of our fans in Australia who have bought tickets for the tour expecting to see me in my usual place on the drums.

So that you all know the truth, as of the end of the business day on February 14th, I was notified that I would not be drumming for the tour in Australia. I’m saddened, and to be honest I am shocked by the situation.

Last year, I discovered 90% of Slayer’s tour income was being deducted as expenses including the professional fees paid to management, costing the band millions of dollars and leaving 10% or less to split amongst the four of us. In my opinion, this is not the way a band’s business should operate. I tried rectifying it by letting my band mates know, and Tom and I hired auditors to figure out what happened, but I was denied access to detailed information and the necessary back up documents.

I spent the Christmas and New Year holidays realizing I had toured all over the world in 2012, but yet, had not been paid (except a small advance) or provided a proper accounting for a full year’s sweat and blood. On top of this, I was told that I would not be paid until I signed a long form contract which gave me no written assurance of how much or on what basis management would deduct commissions, nor did it provide me access to the financial budgets or records for review. It also forbade me to do interviews or make statements having to do with the band, in effect a gagging order.

Last Monday, I sat down with Kerry and Tom to rehearse for Australia and to propose a new business model that I felt was the best way forward for Slayer to confidently protect itself so we could do what we do best . . . play for the fans. Kerry made it clear he wasn’t interested in making changes and said if I wanted to argue the point, he would find another drummer. On Thursday, I arrived at rehearsals at 1 pm as scheduled, but Kerry did not show. Rather, at 6:24 pm I received an email from the lawyers saying I was being replaced for the Australian dates.

I remain hopeful that we can resolve our issues. But once again, I sincerely apologize to all of our fans in Australia who spent their money expecting to see the 3 of us original Slayer members.
I look forward to seeing you in the future.

Sincerely,
Dave Lombardo

2

Wow…looks like Dave has stumbled on to a major rip-off happening. And him not being invited to tour In Oz sounds dodgey as fuck! I’m not a Slayer fan but know full well that Dave is an integral part of that band. It’s d be like seeing Melvins with Dale Crover not on drums!

90% is friggin INSANE!!! Especially considering how successful this band is.

3

Holy crap. 90%. And imagine having enough money to not notice you have not been paid for a year.

4

Dave lives like five miles from me. His kid used to go to the jr high I used to teach at.
Late,
grmpysmrf

5

so he says he didnt get paid after the tour
and that he discovered that 90% is going “somewhere”

like, suddenly ?

i mean, dont band have fucking lawyers and all these people who are supposed to sort this shit out like conditions and etc before any tour happens?

and how are other 3 guys ok with those 90% ?

after he and tom hired auditors, was tom also declined the information? its all up to kerry only now to replace a longtime/integral band member? or araya and hanneman dont gief a fukk?

this all seems very fishy.

6

90% is only a number.
If that is what is contracted, then that is what is contracted. And it makes no sense crying about poor little Slayer only getting 10% if you don’t know the story of those numbers.

He said 90% of the income is being deducted as expenses, management fees, etc. Unless anyone has actually been in or managed a large rock band, it’s not valid to cry about the numbers.

Stage builders, sound guys, engineers, insurance, lawyers, management, roadies, catering, hotels, buses, logistics, flights . . . . costs add up FAST and they add up largely.

Now, this is just a matter of semantics at this point as we don’t have the books or contracts available to us and don’t know what Dave really meant, but if they are getting 10% of INCOME, that might not sound impressive, but in the shaky world of rock, it’s SAFE. If it was 10% of PROFIT they’d be sharing a lima bean for dinner instead of a large roast.

And ultimately it is up to the band and their managers/ lawyers to negotiate a contract and compensation structure that works for them. If you ask me, two of the most important positions in a band (if you’re actually doing it for money) is lawyer and accountant.

Now . . . I’m not saying this in defense or support of anyone, just trying to shine some light on it. Dave might be getting railroaded or he might not. And Kerry, to me, always seemed like a dick anyway.

Regardless of what their contract is or how good or crappy the arrangement, there does need to be transparency. If your accounting team won’t or can’t show you the numbers, you got a problem no matter what percentage you’re supposedly due.

I don’t know how “income” is defined, but to play the numbers game . . . . let’s figure the medium-sized venue of about 6,000-7,000 people. If the tickets are $60 a piece and “Slayer, Inc” (or whatever you want to call it) even gets only $25 a piece Dave would be getting almost $4000 in the pocket per show (not counting merch). Not bad for a day’s work.

I hope Dave and the boys can work things out, but I ain’t choosing sides in a world where EVERYONE gets butthurt and NO ONE can read a contract or do math.

7

gunnar
i understand cost of services performed…i also understand administrative expenses, 90% sounds too much when your pulling in ticket/merch sales as slayer does
i feel the defining issue is denial of auditing and transparency.
as far as i am concerned, there is no reason why dave lombardo is not entitled to hire a qualifed auditor to look over financial statements when he is a vested stakeholder in those statements.

thats the point.

8

Holy crap!

If they won’t show Dave the books, the others are not interested in evereyone’s best interests, and they booted Dave instead of investigating, that means something is really really not right.

I hope he gets this sorted, and gets any money he is due. Hopefully, he was wise with the money he has made over the years not that he’s not on tour.

9

I was mostly reacting to people’s freaking out about the 10% earlier.

After review of Dave’s story again it really does seem (based on his account) like they’re giving him a royal screw job.

And yeah, if the other guys really are preventing an audit, it is in my opinion pretty much proof that they’re unfairly robbing ‘ol Davey Boy. Unless there’s a bit of conspiracy (as it seems there is) it would be in ALL the band members’ interest to have an audit performed to ensure that they are getting their proper dues.

10

Exactly.
When someone will not openly show the books to the talent, the books are being cooked and/or the band is being taken advantage of by the people controlling the purse strings.

Certainly wouldn’t be the first time nor the last.

11

Has to be more to it than just that. He got the boot, just like that. If they’re going to ditch their drummer on a whim like that, there’s got to be more to it. Either something he’s missing, or something he’s leaving out.

12

Maybe, maybe not. He rocked the boat in which he was sitting. He was booted from the island with a bit of what seems like bewilderment of why he can’t see the books which were kept essentially by people he (and his band mates and/or label) hired and trusted. If there is nothing to hide, then what’s the issue?

13

Slayer been shafting Dave for years no? I thought it was well known they treated him like an old pair of shoes.

from Lombardo’s wiki

"During Slayer’s 1986 “Reign in Pain” tour to promote the album Reign in Blood, Lombardo left the band and stating “I wasn’t making any money. I figured if we were gonna be doing this professionally, on a major label, I wanted my rent and utilities paid.”[6] The band enlisted Tony Scaglione of Whiplash as his replacement; Discontented with the change, Rick Rubin repeatedly called Lombardo asking him to return. After refusing several times, Lombardo finally decided to return in 1987.[6] Lombardo recorded drums on the Slayer albums South of Heaven (1988) and Seasons in the Abyss (1990), then parted ways with the band again in 1992. Lombardo’s decision to leave Slayer was due to conflicts with band members and his desire to witness the birth of his first child. Dave gave the band members the full nine months notice of his wife’s pregnancy, stating he would be unable to tour in September. He soon received a phone call from manager, Rick Sales; “Dave, big shows coming up in September…” The manager said it would be detrimental to Slayer’s career if they did not tour. Lombardo stood firm in his decision, reiterating he would not miss this paramount moment in his life. December 2001 Lombardo received a phone call from Slayers manager asking him if he’d be interested in returning to the band. With 10 years behind them it couldn’t have been a better time. Lombardo agreed. The rehearsals felt like no time had passed. When asked about Lombardo’s return, Tom Araya said, “Playing with Dave is like putting on an old pair of shoes.”

14

What is the difference between a drummer and a saving bond?

One will mature and make money.

Sorry,seemed like a good time for a drummer joke…

15

My question, though, is why the rest of the band would get so angry by him asking to see the books. Why would they get so defensive if they’re getting ripped off too? I’m thinking they know what’s going on and could care less about him. If so, that’s a real shame.

16

i feel a guitarist from the band slayer doesnt take a long ass break to recover from a spider bite either… yet we seem to buy that one.

17

i hate metalhead assholes.

18

Slayer’s official response:

“As regards Dave Lombardo’s Facebook post, Slayer does not agree with Mr. Lombardo’s substance or the timeline of the events, except to acknowledge that Mr. Lombardo came to the band less than a week before their scheduled departure for Australia to present an entirely new set of terms for his engagement that were contrary to those that had been previously agreed upon,” they wrote, adding, “The band was unable to reach an agreement on these new demands in the short amount of time available prior to leaving for Australia.”
“there is more to the account than what Mr. Lombardo has offered, but out of respect to him, Slayer will not be commenting further.”

19

I’m not the biggest slayer fan in the world but, dave is a huge part of the reason they’re “bad ass”. I wish he could restart grip inc. they were def. underated, well i guess they could get a new vox. i wonder how this worked with ministry with only two members listed as members? i don’t have any of the recent records (up till’ rio) but does it list al as the sole member or is/was it al,raven,tommy?

20

“The band was unable to reach an agreement on these new demands in the short amount of time available prior to leaving for Australia.”

Probably due to the fact that kerry didn’t feel like discussing it.

Due to the depth and detail that Dave put in his post I tend to believe him over the pathetic Slayer response which was essentially “we don’t agree” and they offered no details. which parts don’t you agree with and why? but out of “respect” to dave… yeah right. Finding that hard to believe.

Like Destructo I’m not really a Slayer fan but I’d known of Lombardo before I’d actually heard the band.

Late,
grmpysmrf