NEUROTICA's KELLY SHAEFER: 'We're Not A Wrestling Band!'

October 23, 2002

NEUROTICA frontman Kelly Shaefer believes that his group's association with the WWE-owned Smackdown Records (which released NEUROTICA's self-titled third album) ultimately hurt the band in the eyes of the record-buying public, who refused to take the group seriously after seeing them cross-promoted at wrestling events.

"We're not a wrestling band — we're a rock and roll band!" Shaefer told RockRage recently. "I don't wanna be tagged or seen as some kind of a joke. It was a dangerous marriage to begin with that required very delicate hands and it wasn't handled that way. I think we needed to be promoted like DROWNING POOL where everyone knew they weren't going to be on wrestling and they were a real band on Wind-up Records. I don't have any ill will towards anyone and I am a fan of wrestling, but I don't think that people took us seriously especially when our album is all over 'Monday Night Raw'. When they see that they immediately put you into a corner and I don't want that to happen. I still do have respect for [WWE heads] Vince and Linda McMahon and think they're very smart people. I think that some of the people that work for them are evil, working right underneath their nose basically stealing money from them, but that's a whole different issue. To run a record company you have to be ready to go full force with it."

With regards to the band's recent split with Smackdown Records, Shaefer said: "Well, there really wasn't anyone there working the record because there really wasn't a label it was just a name. They were able to use their resources to promote our band but when it came down to the nitty-gritty and work the record, there was nobody there to do that. So here we have all this momentum from just getting off Ozzfest and we have our record company just not taking things seriously. We just asked them to let us go because it wasn't working and they weren't in a position to work with bands and they're better off releasing compilation records. It was better for both of us. They did a lot of great things for our band but the association with the WWE kind of soiled the band and it's just better we move on."

Shaefer also revealed plans to record and release another studio album with ATHEIST, the much-missed progressive-thrash act that issued a couple of stunning albums in the early '90s before unceremoniously calling it a day. "We're looking to do something with Century Media or Nuclear Blastand put a new record out," stated Shaefer, who plays guitar and sings in the group. "Those two labels are kind of like pioneers in that scene."

To read Kelly's entire interview with RockRage, click here.

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).