GOD FORBID Guitarist: 'F**k The Record Business, We're In The Band Business'

GOD FORBID guitarist Dallas Coyle has written the latest entry of his weekly column for MetalSucks, "The Hard R." In this installment, Dallas talks about the Internet, downloading, and the state of the record business. An excerpt from the blog follows:

"After my last two blogs, my brother had a 'talk' with me about these blogs. Essentially asking me to stop doing them because people listen to GF for only the music and our views on things shouldn't be associated with the band. I said, 'Fuck that!' How can I do anything and not be associated with GF. GF is supposed to help me, not inhibit me from doing what I want. No one will censor what I'm going to say. As long as someone is willing to listen then I see no reason to stop. I'm not pissed about him asking me to stop, I'm pissed about why. He told me all of these people called him asking, 'Aren't you worried about what your brother says?' He tells me the label had a meeting and the blog came up and they heard 'Hillary Clinton is a n****r' and they dropped their heads in shame.

"Let's analyze these statements. 1) Why the fuck can't any of these people who have my phone number talk to me about this stuff? Why call my brother? 2) I'm sure most at our label were laughing before they were 'supposed' to drop their heads in shame. What the fuck are they bringing up a blog I do? If anything heads should be dropped in shame because they aren't selling enough GOD FORBID records. Hopefully this blog will get more people to download our shit so they can hear the music, which we've had a problem with since we started. I hear, 'You guys deserve so much more,' I say, 'we don't deserve shit! We've already done more than I ever thought we'd ever do!' We are where we are because of us, not anyone else. If our band gets any bigger, it's because of our attitudes and our work. We've had bad attitudes, we thought we weren't getting a fair shake, but it was all lies. Us lying to our ourselves. And through all of that lying we've made great music and have the best fans in the world and we're still going. We couldn't do it without the record label but that was then and this is now. Fuck the record business. We're in the band business.

"The record business is like your mother or father when you're in a band. You hate them/love them. Unfortunately, the record business is going down the shitter. Right now they have cancer. But it's their own fault. It's a lack of good ideas and good judgement. Too much old thinking. Everyone wants to blame the Internet but I think the Internet is a scapegoat just like illegal immigration is a scapegoat for politicians to explain their failures in creating jobs. The Internet helps the bands and the labels. The Internet is a brita for all entertainment media. Get rid of the crap; keep the purity. The labels sign CRAP music so it's no wonder no one is buying their shit. See, they think you are stupid. They think you will buy anything that they put out there. They underestimate your sense of smell. You can smell bullshit from afar. I encourage people to download our records because it's hard to find our albums across the world. What's the difference between a download or someone copying a CD for a friend to hear? Isn't tape-trading how METALLICA began their grassroots following?"

To read the rest of this blog entry, go to www.metalsucks.net.