Ministry’s Al Jourgensen has made a scathing appraisal of Soundwave boss AJ Maddah calling the failed Australian promoter a “douchebag” and a ‘lying Scumbag” after Soundwave crashed and burned one week before Christmas.
Maddah’s financial disaster has left creditors out of pocket for more than $28 million including many of the bands of 2015 including Jourgensen’s Ministry.
Maddah failed to pay Ministry $203,000 and the list of unpaid artists is long and deep. Soundgarden are owed $2.1 million, Slipknot $1.6 million, Smashing Pumpkins $1.2 million, Fear Factory $78,000, Lamb of God $161,000 and on it goes with Godflesh, Antemasque and more.
Jourgensen has now started a crowdfunding project to compensate for the lost income which he says has now put his band and others into financial difficulty.
Meanwhile, the fate of Maddah is unknown at this stage.
Al Jourgensen’s AJ Maddah post from Patreon
hello folks… there’s something I’ve been wanting to get off my chest or a while now:
DOUCHEBAGS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY!now I know there’s douchebags in every industry and all walks of life but this particular one has got under my skin like a deer tic… his name is AJ Maddah and he was, until recently the promoter of the Soundwave Festival in Australia. In my 35 years of touring, I’ve been fortunate enough to have never encountered such a lying scumbag… not only did he blatantly rip us off but ripped off damn near every band in the festival lineup. He worked soundwave fest like a bernie madoff ponzi scheme… (he would pay last years bands off of the next year’s ticket sales… and apparently this has been going on for years with this guy…) he has been living the “high life” of a jet setting playboy on the hard work of thousands of musicians and crew over the years, but this year, it all came crashing down.
This scheme apparently worked well for a while as bands had to twist in the wind and wait for months to get paid, but eventually they did… until this year… which is why there were grumblings, but no real red flags before I agreed to do this show…
putting together flights, gear rentals, and crew is daunting enough, let alone making it happen 8,000 miles across the globe. this of course came out of my pocket to make these shows happen…I guess I can take solace in knowing this fuckhead, AJ, will probably got to jail, but that alone will not feed the admirals cat as they say…
We’ve been told on numerous occasions, both verbally and in writing, that we would be paid in full. AJ even set up a payment plan with me six months ago, which of course, was another promise he did not keep…
go the links below to see which other of your favorite bands have been callously fucked by this guy. this is no joke… I know a lot of these folks and know many are in the same position as me… some have started crowdfunding campaigns, and some have had to go bankrupt and start over. this dickwad’s actions have had some serious real life consequences for me, my friends, and the music industry in general….
anyway… it’s not my style to ask for money for doing nothing, that’s why I set up Patreon… I’d rather live in my car than beg.. but I really took a beating on this one folks… the $200,000 figure that is listed in the article includes moneys owed to promotion, management, travel agents and equipment rental fees. I personally paid my band and crew out of my pocket… $35,250 to make these shows happen. all I ask is that you tell some friends, and have them tell some friends to join us here.. it would be a big help in smoothing this crisis over…
what it doesn’t smooth out however is the mistrust bands will have in the future over travelling long distances with high start up costs to imperil their careers over possibly, probably , and in the case definitely not getting paid….
THE WORLD JUST GOT SMALLER…and bands will think twice about travelling…
sorry to be a downer days before christmas, but I was just made aware of this and confirmed it on friday… seems there truly is a grinch this year, and his name is AJ MADDAH.Thank you for being here… you have no clue how much it means… if anything, just spread the word about this evil fuck! maybe the threat of being exposed, shamed and the possibility of going to jail will help stop future charlatans from wreaking havoc on the artist community.
In all seriousness though…have a good holiday, and drink an extra one for me… I’m gonna need it…
https://www.patreon.com/posts/3932904
