DEICIDE's GLEN BENTON Explains Why He Is Not A Fan Of Paid Meet-And-Greets: 'It Makes Me Feel Weird'

In a new interview with Prescription Punk Rock, DEICIDE frontman Glen Benton offered his views on artists monetizing — directly and on their own terms — enhanced fan experiences in the form of VIP meet-and-greets. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "I was having this conversation with the guys in the band the other day, 'cause we were talking about meet-and-greets and doing that kind of stuff. And I'm just not a fan of the whole charging fans for a signature. I give a fan a signature out of kindness of my heart, not because I wanna make money off of them. The fact that they're a fan and they listen to our material… I know things are different — most people get [music] for free now — but I still can't come to terms with that, to charge somebody for my signature, especially a fan… And it makes me feel kind of weird."

He continued: "[Late RUSH drummer] Neil Peart, I've seen an interview with him, and he felt uncomfortable in those situations, and I just feel the same way, man. I just don't like being put in those positions where I'm sitting at a table and people are gawking at me like I'm in the Jim Rose Circus or something. I guess I'm just too real and too deep for that kind of shit. To me, I think it's — pardon the expression — I think it's a poser kind of thing. That's for posers. And Steve's [Asheim, DEICIDE drummer], like, 'I feel the same way. I feel like I wanna climb out of my skin when I'm in those situations.' And like I say, I'm just not into that kind of thing. 'Cause I'm up there, if I'm wrangled into these things, I'm thinking to myself as I'm up there and everybody's saying all the compliments and everything, and I think to myself, 'Man, if they can only see me when I'm outside mowing my grass, washing the car and cleaning the bathroom. If they could only see me now.' So that's kind of how it makes me feel uncomfortable, 'cause I don't think of myself like a rock star or anything like that. I just don't put myself in that [frame of mind]. I can't. I really don't. I can't relate."

Benton added: "For some people, it's just not them. And I don't feel comfortable doing it. I mean, I don't mind, if you come out to me, like if I'm leaving the back door and getting in vehicles and people come up to me, I welcome that. I don't feel like I'm being put on a pedestal. I don't like to feel like that. It's just an uncomfortable, surreal feeling for me. Like I said, I'd be better off… Catch me at the airport, catch me going out the back door, catch me in soundcheck. The way I look at it, if I'm out touring, in a day's time, man, I work for an hour. So in that time frame, you have ten thousand opportunities to get me to sign something, give you a guitar pick, do a selfie with you and that. It means more to somebody like that than it does to go pay 80 bucks to stand there. I just don't feel comfortable doing that. I never will. I never have. I've gotten some moments of ruffled feathers because of it. But, to me, that's for posers. That's for… I don't even wanna say their names… I've gotta be careful. You've gotta be careful. Everything goes right on Blabbermouth. You can't joke anymore. The world is a different place now."

"V.I.P Packages" seem to be the only way for fans to meet the bands they admire these days. Some of these come at a really inflated price on top of the standard ticket costs and include anything from a signed item, a photo to watching soundchecks or a collectable lanyard.

Paid meet-and-greets are becoming staples of the touring circuit and are seen by some artists as a necessary evil to survive nowadays. Other musicians object to meet-and-greets on moral grounds, believing they favor richer fans over poorer ones. Similarly, many people view the fact that groups charge fans to meet them as completely exploitative, since artists are usually aware that young admirers are prepared to pay any amount of money to see their favorite band, sometimes at their parents' expense.

DEICIDE recently announced the "Banished By Sin" North American tour for this summer/fall. The trek, which will feature support from KRISIUN, INFERI and CLOAK, will launch on September 5 in Atlanta, Georgia and conclude on October 11 in Tampa, Florida.

DEICIDE's new album, "Banished By Sin", was made available on April 26 via Reigning Phoenix Music.

This past February, DEICIDE released the second single from "Banished By Sin", a song called "Sever The Tongue". The track was recorded at Smoke & Mirrors with engineer Jeramie Kling, while the mixing and mastering was handed by Josh Wilbur.

DEICIDE collaborated with David Brodsky from My Good Eye: Music Visuals for a visually arresting video for "Sever The Tongue" that complements the track's blasphemous undertones.

To close out 2023, DEICIDE celebrated Christmas with another blasphemous song called "Bury The Cross...With Your Christ".

DEICIDE played its first show with new guitarist Taylor Nordberg (THE ABSENCE, INHUMAN CONDITION) on May 21, 2022 at the Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Previous DEICIDE guitarist Chris Cannella amicably left the band in January 2022 after a three-year run.

Chris joined DEICIDE in 2019 following the departure of guitarist Mark English.

English became a member of DEICIDE in 2016 after the exit of longtime guitarist Jack Owen.

Photo credit: Deidra Kling