Speaking exclusively to BW&BK, ICED EARTH guitarist/founder Jon Schaffer talked about the widely rumored and highly sought after Live In Athens DVD that will reportedly be issued next month.
While meant to coincide with Century Media's 15th anniversary on American soil, the long release of these dormant tapes doesn't sit well with Schaffer.
We had discussed it earlier and I told them, 'No, its an obvious money grab. The footage isnt any good. If it was, we would have done it years ago.' There were only three cameras. There was no crane. One camera was set up at the back of the auditorium. One guy was walking around in front of the stage and another on the stage. We all agreed, back in the day, that that show doesnt warrant a professional DVD release. Its not right. I think the fans will feel ripped off. Thats what Im concerned with.
They sent me the trailer and it was pretty cool, so I thought it might be OK. Then they sent me the DVD, their edit. Its bad! The last thing I told them was, We can go back and re-edit this thing, with me there, to make it the best it can be, or you guys can put this thing out and Im going to tell people the truth and not support it at all. The point is, they swear theyre going to keep the price low and tell everyone its not a high quality DVD release. That its a documentary of a point in the bands career. I understand that, but I want people to know that this wasnt done with my supervision, or permission. This is them, taking tapes that were originally done for a German TV program (Viva).
The bonus footage is a joke. Me walking around town talking about the Acropolis and metal. The backstage footage they have is literally them standing there as Im tying my shoes and Matt (Barlow, vocals) is doing an interview. Its nothing, just footage. Anything they can add, maybe a minute and half long. The tour of Athens is maybe two minutes. Theres also three songs missing, where they were changing tapes or batteries died.
The edit, in some spots, is really bad. All it would have taken is someone who knows the songs better. There are effects you can do to slow the film down, tricks to eat up a little time until you get another good shot. Though that takes time and money. If they had done some of that stuff, I wouldnt feel that bad about it.
I have a lot of good memories from those days, when Matt and Brent (Smedley, drums) were in the band. We had a lot of fun. It was a tight band. It was a very cool period of history to remember. I just dont want people to feel like theyre getting ripped off.
I told Century Media that the fans reaction is going to decide whether I pursue a lawsuit. They think they have the right to put it out and I say they dont. I dont want to drag it through a long, expensive legal process to have someone interpret it, but if I get reaction that people think its a rip-off, I will probably pursue it (legally). My thing has always been to give the people the best possible product for the money. Its an integrity issue.
A full interview with Mr. Schaffer will be in an upcoming issue of BW&BK, where he discusses the status of writing and recording two albums worth concept material, plans for a legitimate Iced Earth DVD and changes in his outlook on life/music industry, since the birth of his daughter.
While meant to coincide with Century Media's 15th anniversary on American soil, the long release of these dormant tapes doesn't sit well with Schaffer.
We had discussed it earlier and I told them, 'No, its an obvious money grab. The footage isnt any good. If it was, we would have done it years ago.' There were only three cameras. There was no crane. One camera was set up at the back of the auditorium. One guy was walking around in front of the stage and another on the stage. We all agreed, back in the day, that that show doesnt warrant a professional DVD release. Its not right. I think the fans will feel ripped off. Thats what Im concerned with.
They sent me the trailer and it was pretty cool, so I thought it might be OK. Then they sent me the DVD, their edit. Its bad! The last thing I told them was, We can go back and re-edit this thing, with me there, to make it the best it can be, or you guys can put this thing out and Im going to tell people the truth and not support it at all. The point is, they swear theyre going to keep the price low and tell everyone its not a high quality DVD release. That its a documentary of a point in the bands career. I understand that, but I want people to know that this wasnt done with my supervision, or permission. This is them, taking tapes that were originally done for a German TV program (Viva).
The bonus footage is a joke. Me walking around town talking about the Acropolis and metal. The backstage footage they have is literally them standing there as Im tying my shoes and Matt (Barlow, vocals) is doing an interview. Its nothing, just footage. Anything they can add, maybe a minute and half long. The tour of Athens is maybe two minutes. Theres also three songs missing, where they were changing tapes or batteries died.
The edit, in some spots, is really bad. All it would have taken is someone who knows the songs better. There are effects you can do to slow the film down, tricks to eat up a little time until you get another good shot. Though that takes time and money. If they had done some of that stuff, I wouldnt feel that bad about it.
I have a lot of good memories from those days, when Matt and Brent (Smedley, drums) were in the band. We had a lot of fun. It was a tight band. It was a very cool period of history to remember. I just dont want people to feel like theyre getting ripped off.
I told Century Media that the fans reaction is going to decide whether I pursue a lawsuit. They think they have the right to put it out and I say they dont. I dont want to drag it through a long, expensive legal process to have someone interpret it, but if I get reaction that people think its a rip-off, I will probably pursue it (legally). My thing has always been to give the people the best possible product for the money. Its an integrity issue.
A full interview with Mr. Schaffer will be in an upcoming issue of BW&BK, where he discusses the status of writing and recording two albums worth concept material, plans for a legitimate Iced Earth DVD and changes in his outlook on life/music industry, since the birth of his daughter.
