Death To All Tour money debacle

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   Hi folks,
Didn't see anything about this elsewhere on the forum but it's serious enough that I think people should be made aware of it.

Some of you are aware of (and indeed went to) the Death to All benefit concert series which was supposed to benefit the Sweet Relief charity (which helps out musicians in need). It was held in honour of Chuck Schuldiner of Death and was supported by the remaining members of Death, Eric Greif - Death's Manager - and Chuck's family, and it was organised by the guys at the Sick Drummer 'zine.

As those of you who were at the shows know, they were big successes: the crowds were packed, a lot of merch got sold, the musicians played their hearts out. Unfortunately, nasty rumours have been circulating that all that ticket and merch money has kind of disappeared. According to the rumours, the musicians and crew had gone unpaid or were fobbed off with promissory notes, people who were owed refunds for some cancelled shows haven't received their money back yet, and months after the tour wrapped up Sweet Relief have yet to see a cent.

Sick Drummer eventually broke their silence here:
http://www.sickdrummermagazine.com/index.php/news/latest-news/2407-the-current-situation-surrounding-the-death-to-all-tour.html

This prompted this retort from Death's manager:
http://gunshyassassin.com/news/exclusive-eric-greif-issues-statement-following-sick-drummer-claims/

And now Beth Schuldiner has come out with this statement:
http://www.metalsucks.net/2012/09/21/beth-schuldiner-comments-on-death-to-all-controversy

It sounds like regardless of who you believe in this story there's some severe issues going on with the finances of the tour, and personally I have little sympathy with the excuses made for not paying the charity yet. Even if Sick Drummer have been genuinely unfortunate and have tried the hardest they could to do right by everyone, since this was a series of charity benefits the money owed to the charity should have been the first priority. Either way, it's something worth discussing and being aware of and there'll doubtless be more twists and turns before the story's settled.

This is worth amplifying if you can because Sick Drummer are members of the Blast Beat Network; Metal Sucks has been brave enough to do the right thing and run the story despite being fellow network members but elsewhere the coverage has been patchy.

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Warthur Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MMA Metal Reviewer Metal Reviewer Joined: 26 Nov 2010 Status: Offline Points: 136	Post Options Post Reply Quote Warthur Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Death To All Tour money debacle Posted: 21 Sep 2012 at 11:01am
	Hi folks, Didn't see anything about this elsewhere on the forum but it's serious enough that I think people should be made aware of it. Some of you are aware of (and indeed went to) the Death to All benefit concert series which was supposed to benefit the Sweet Relief charity (which helps out musicians in need). It was held in honour of Chuck Schuldiner of Death and was supported by the remaining members of Death, Eric Greif - Death's Manager - and Chuck's family, and it was organised by the guys at the Sick Drummer 'zine. As those of you who were at the shows know, they were big successes: the crowds were packed, a lot of merch got sold, the musicians played their hearts out. Unfortunately, nasty rumours have been circulating that all that ticket and merch money has kind of disappeared. According to the rumours, the musicians and crew had gone unpaid or were fobbed off with promissory notes, people who were owed refunds for some cancelled shows haven't received their money back yet, and months after the tour wrapped up Sweet Relief have yet to see a cent. Sick Drummer eventually broke their silence here: http://www.sickdrummermagazine.com/index.php/news/latest-news/2407-the-current-situation-surrounding-the-death-to-all-tour.html This prompted this retort from Death's manager: http://gunshyassassin.com/news/exclusive-eric-greif-issues-statement-following-sick-drummer-claims/ And now Beth Schuldiner has come out with this statement: http://www.metalsucks.net/2012/09/21/beth-schuldiner-comments-on-death-to-all-controversy It sounds like regardless of who you believe in this story there's some severe issues going on with the finances of the tour, and personally I have little sympathy with the excuses made for not paying the charity yet. Even if Sick Drummer have been genuinely unfortunate and have tried the hardest they could to do right by everyone, since this was a series of charity benefits the money owed to the charity should have been the first priority. Either way, it's something worth discussing and being aware of and there'll doubtless be more twists and turns before the story's settled. This is worth amplifying if you can because Sick Drummer are members of the Blast Beat Network; Metal Sucks has been brave enough to do the right thing and run the story despite being fellow network members but elsewhere the coverage has been patchy.

Stooge Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List MMA Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator/Retired Admin Joined: 25 Mar 2010 Location: Whitby, ON, CAN Status: Offline Points: 5637	Post Options Post Reply Quote Stooge Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 21 Sep 2012 at 7:46pm
	I remember hearing about this mess. Pathetic!
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J-Man Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MMA Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: 25 Mar 2010 Location: Philadelphia,PA Status: Offline Points: 7032	Post Options Post Reply Quote J-Man Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 21 Sep 2012 at 8:15pm
	I saw about this on facebook a week or so ago. A real fuckin' shame. I went to the concert in LA as a VIP member, and even though it was sincerely one of the best nights of my entire life, it's heartbreaking reading about how Sick Drummer handled the whole thing. I hadn't received the LP that was promised with the VIP tickets, but I was able to quickly overlook that - the way they screwed over the charity and bands is simply unacceptable, though. I heard that Gorguts and Atheist both didn't even get a dime for their performances either. This was supposed to be a gathering for people to celebrate Chuck's life and music, and although I think it was very successful in that regard, this whole mess really puts a damper on the experience. Sick Drummer should be ashamed.
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