Jaxx makes TMZ

[Harvester]

'Nelson' Twin Sued for Trash-Talking Nightclub


2/19/2011 12:46 AM PST by TMZ Staff

Former '90s glam rocker Gunnar Nelson just got sued by a smalltown Virginia club owner ... who claims the singer blasted him in the press for no reason ... and destroyed his business in the process.

It's all over an interview Nelson gave on Examiner.com last August -- two years after performing at Jaxx nightclub in Springfield, VA -- in which the singer calls the venue the "lowpoint" of his career ... and insists the owner still owes him $8,000 for his performance.

Now, club owner Jay Nedry is firing back -- suing Nelson for over $25,000 ... claiming the singer's "irrational, untrue, and slanderous diatribe" in the interview is not only entirely false ... it's completely defamatory.

According to the lawsuit filed in L.A. County Superior Court this month, Nelson's allegations "have had a great negative impact upon Nedry's personal and business reputation, as well as that of Jaxx Nightclub by deterring persons from dealing with him individually and the club."

Nedry is also suing the reporter who wrote the article containing the interview -- claiming she never checked her facts.

 

[OdinsCourt]

Wow. :O

 

[Cheiron]

If true, good luck Jay. Maybe Nelson meant to say that it was the hottest. Which, at Jaxx, is always a possibility.

 

[AMBR]

This just cracked me up. Go for it Nedry, wtf.

 

[J. Golden]

My first thoughs; "really Nelson asks for $8,000.00 or more, who the f#$k are they?"
A Nelson show in a club cannot make enough to cover that there is no way, come on it is Nelson.

 

[Diamond45]

WTF? I'm not sure who's lying here though. I really want to be on Jay's side but I don't have all the facts either.

As for Nelson hurting Jay - Jay shouldn't have booked such a sucky band to begin with. I guess he was desparate (as are a lot of club owners these days).

Hope it all works out in the end. Don't want to see Jaxx go down in flames.

 

[BenMech]

There's probably truth on both sides.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

I'd be shocked if this made it to court. It's almost impossible to sue a public figure for slander because you have to prove intent to defame.

 

[J. Golden]

I'd be shocked if this made it to court. It's almost impossible to sue a public figure for slander because you have to prove intent to defame.

Public figure! It's one of the Nelson twins not like it is some massively profiled guy like the prez.
This issue is just stupid in so many ways.

 

[Metal_Camden]

What?!?! Dude Jaxx is the shit! Some of the metal crowds and also really good sound!

 

[Pellaz]

Regardless of how good or bad Jaxx is...it is an institution. Rare indeed are the U.S. metal tours with at least 20-30 dates that DON'T hit Jaxx.
I'm rooting for the club here. Calling it a shithole or whatever isn't actionable, but an allegation of nonpayment, if false, would be.
And I don't think Gunnar's "fame" would protect him there.

 

[NuclearFire166]

Regardless of how good or bad Jaxx is...it is an institution. Rare indeed are the U.S. metal tours with at least 20-30 dates that DON'T hit Jaxx.
I'm rooting for the club here. Calling it a shithole or whatever isn't actionable, but an allegation of nonpayment, if false, would be.
And I don't think Gunnar's "fame" would protect him there.

Really well said. Many tours either start or end at Jaxx and more tours have stops there than in most other venues in the region. I think it gets more good Metal shows than the Trocadero in Philly, even.

Jaxx was the place where I saw Uriah Heep for the first time (2001). There was also my first time seeing Helloween, Hammerfall, Savatage, Blind Guardian, and many others. It usually takes me 2.5 hours of driving to get there, and can take over 3 with traffic, but I don't mind because you usually get a great show. It's also located in an area filled with relatively inexpensive hotels, which is a major plus.

I have heard people say that bands do not get treated as well as they did before, and then there's the poster rule, but I am sure there are valid reasons why this happens.

If something happens and Jaxx goes under, then the tours that go there may end up in the various places in Baltimore, making it a shorter drive for me.

I would, however prefer to continue having to make the long drive and patronize Jaxx.

 

[Pellaz]

"Poster rule"?

 

[AeonicSlumber]

Regardless of how good or bad Jaxx is...it is an institution. Rare indeed are the U.S. metal tours with at least 20-30 dates that DON'T hit Jaxx.
I'm rooting for the club here. Calling it a shithole or whatever isn't actionable, but an allegation of nonpayment, if false, would be.
And I don't think Gunnar's "fame" would protect him there.

It's not so much as it is fame, as it is tough to prove that a dude who is doing interviews and publicly speaking etc, is intentionally DEFAMING another public entity/person/buisness/etc. That's what slander is -- intentional defamation. It's one thing if I went around an office telling everyone that a co-worker is racist just so everyone hates him. It's another to say something that is publicly said in the press was intentional defamation -- an intent to bring down the club. If that intent gets proven though, then he's lost the case of course.

FYI just because it's an institution doesn't mean that it deserves praise. I've heard from many that it's a shithole and alot of even notable bands (The Black Dahlia Murder, Darkest Hour) got "banned" (the idea of banning a band from playing your venue that has substantial pull is in it of itself, shady business) from playing there because they took it on their own to tell the owner that he's a douche to his face.

But there are alot of people in this business that are responsible for bringing metal to us that are scumbags and scam artists behind the scenes but nobody really can do anything to stop it because at the end of the day, the band would more likely than not rather make money than not have a gig. In the case of DH and TBDM, they got lucky that they'll never ever need to play that venue as they've outgrown it.

I don't have a personal opinion on either party of course. I don't know the Jaxx folks (only have heard things) and I don't know Nelson. I'm just being objective.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

Nedry is also suing the reporter who wrote the article containing the interview -- claiming she never checked her facts.

This also makes me laugh. If that could actually make it to court, I'm suing Fox News for billions.

 

[Met-Al]

AeonicSlumber,

I never thought I'd say this, but all of your posts here are well-stated. This is a pretty outrageous case. If Nedry does in fact owe money to Nelson, then it should be a simple matter of taking action and going to court. It really doesn't need to be made into a public matter. I've heard from some of the Virginia locals that Nedry is a shady jerk, so I wouldn't put it past him to be acting this way. At any rate, it's all hearsay. It'll probably fizzle as most rivalries like this do.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert

 

[DuchessOfDork]

There's probably truth on both sides.

This.

That being said, I always hear people complain about Jaxx.. and they're usually the bands that can't sell the usual 50 tickets. In places like New York, you literally have to pay in order to play gigs. ($2,000 to play with Sonata Arctica, for example). At Jaxx, you have to sell 50 tickets. Personally, I take no issue with that. You should be able to get 50 people to come and see you.

Now, how does Jay work with national bands? No idea. I know he has a lot of my favorite bands play there, so I'm guessing he can't be treating them too badly if they keep coming back.

 

[AngraRULES]

This.

That being said, I always hear people complain about Jaxx.. and they're usually the bands that can't sell the usual 50 tickets. In places like New York, you literally have to pay in order to play gigs. ($2,000 to play with Sonata Arctica, for example). At Jaxx, you have to sell 50 tickets. Personally, I take no issue with that. You should be able to get 50 people to come and see you.

You're making a general assumption based on one experience/instance. I can tell you by experience that it's not how it always goes.

 

[DuchessOfDork]

You're making a general assumption based on one experience/instance. I can tell you by experience that it's not how it always goes.

Okay, but my point still stands. Most bands complain about Jaxx because they don't like the "pay to play" mentality. If Jay has somehow abused local bands, I don't know anything of it. He's always been very good to me, and the people I work with.

EDIT: Not that it's impossible that he's done people wrong, or anything. But I work with him a lot, so this is just one person's opinion.

 

[AngraRULES]

Okay, but my point still stands. Most bands complain about Jaxx because they don't like the "pay to play" mentality.

So what would happen if say, a band only sells 30 of those 50 they are required to sell to play at Jaxx?