Fates Warning, a possibility for PPVI?

[Walter_Langkowski]

I have offered Fates a slot ever since PP II. I have never even gotten to a negotiations level with them. I have always been told that it "would make sense if we are doing a tour around then" and it gets left at that. With me booking bands as early as eight months in advance, it's not going to happen. Fates simply will not commit as early as I require.

What sucks is that they are stuck in a box in the U.S. They can either open a tour and play 30 mins in front of 1,000-3,000 fans or play a headline show in a small club for 100-300 people. I dare say that PP is the only avenue where they can play a proper headline show in the U.S. and get the respect and adoration that they deserve.

Too bad....

Glenn H.

Cool to give us info like that. They are a great band but they really have done some things business-wise that would make anyone on the outside scratch their heads in wonder. Personally, I don't think that Jim Matheos is living in the same reality as the rest of us.

Great musician, though.

 

[Met-Al]

Case in point: this band refuses to leave Metal Blade when a label like Inside Out would pick them up in a nanosecond and promote the hell out of them (funding a tour, perhaps?). It's a shame that Matheos would turn this show down. I'm sure Ray has talked it up to him more than once, only to be shot down. Furthermore, it kills me to find out that Aresti will continue to tour with the band and not record with them. Has Jim become that much of a dictator to the point where he wants no writing or recording contributions from Frank? On a final note, Mark Zonder is out of the band, Bear. He made that quite clear on his website. Oh, well. It was a good run while it lasted. At least I'll have the memories of a pioneering movement in music. I guess there's still hope for a John Arch appearance, though, huh?


Stay metal. Never rust.
Met-Al

 

[BABS]

Babs,

I saw that tour in Atlanta and FW was awsome. Would have been better with Mark zonder, but was still awsome none the less. I am 99% sure that the additional guitar player on stage was Frank Aresti of previous FW fame. It was a short set but they knocked it out.

Man talk about rubbing salt in a wound (j/k)!

Another quirky aspect to the show I missed was that they had moved Fates up a half hour earlier than it said on the ticket.

Oh well, let's hope they do a wonderful headliner or co-headliner tour of the States or better yet wind up at Progpower in some way.

 

[Yippee38]

It's time for a letter writing campaign.

 

[The Fiddler]

Case in point: this band refuses to leave Metal Blade when a label like Inside Out would pick them up in a nanosecond and promote the hell out of them (funding a tour, perhaps?). Furthermore, it kills me to find out that Aresti will continue to tour with the band and not record with them. Has Jim become that much of a dictator to the point where he wants no writing or recording contributions from Frank?

Ray has co-written A LOT of the material on the past 3 FW discs, so I would hardly call Jim a "dictator".

I've heard some of Aresti's solo material and it was awful IMO. Unless he's changed, I don't need to hear him writing stuff for FW.

Currently, Aresti is a guest musician on tour and not part of the band. Maybe that's the way Aresti wants it (i.e. limited committment). Furthermore, being a great guitar player doesn't necessarily make one a great songwriter.

Regarding Fates not moving to another label and not trying too hard to be a hugely popular band, I'm guessing much of that has to do with Jim's professional and personal goals. I don't know Jim personally, but from what I do know of him he's a quiet guy and his kids/wife/family trump everything else. I think Jim has found a balance comfortable for him that allows him to release his music without compromising his family life. Some people simply don't feel the need to get rich or be the biggest and the best. There are a lot of headaches and sacrifices that go along with those goals.

Regarding Jim's committment to Metal Blade and Brian Slagel, I would consider that not all labels give their bands unlimited creative freedom. Jim's a pioneer that's been with Metal Blade from the very beginning (not to mention being a big part of Metal Blade's income), so I'm sure Jim has pretty much free reign to do whatever he wants. That's a luxury earned through years of trust. Why should Jim start all over with a different record label when he's obvioulsy comfortable with Metal Blade (even if it doesn't make business sense to people who don't know Jim personally).

 

[batmura]

Interesting read. While The Fiddler makes a good point regarding Metal Blades, I've always believed that the reason why FW got little attention was because they're among the worst marketed prog band ever.

Inside Out isn't all that demanding on its bands either. There are tons of bands there that put out releases whenever they want to and however they want to, without any label pressure.

FW is perhaps the most amazing prog metal band ever, but they've been overshadowed by pretty much every other band out there. Their management is poor, it seems. I could be wrong though. I still love them; and to say that they've not released any good albums in the last 10 years is daft. APSOG is a masterpiece in the truest sense of the word.