Redline Defiance is dunzo. Or not, depending on what you've heard. "REDLINE DEFIANCE QUIT! NO LONGER A BAND!" reads a blind post on the band's myspace page. That post was followed by a more in-depth pronouncement from guitarist Emerson Willis that was sent out to the band's mailing list...
In case you haven't heard the news, I wanted to let all my friends and supporters know first hand what has happened to Redline Defiance. As most of you know I have been with RLD since the beginning almost 7 years ago. Some of you may also know that my family and I have also been the main financial support for RLD to the tune of over $30K! Not only have I made a huge financial commitment to the band but I have also poured my heart and soul into this band, and have been a major part of the song writing. Well today was a very challenging day for me as I learned that the rest of the band members have decided they no longer want me as a member of the band! This was not about my musicianship, or my song writing, this all started because I was upset that our manager expected me to pay for his overdraft charges on his personal checking account?? If you want to know more I will be happy to share the details, but at the end of the day I think they decided that if I was out of the picture the band would not be obligated to repay the money that I had invested in the band. Since my family and I have basically funded the band, we have also maintained control of Redline Defiance as an LLC. so where I go, so does the band name. I know that some of you may also be friends with the other band members, as I was, but I hope that you consider what has happened and not support them for deserting me as a dedicated member. I want to thank everyone for all your support you have given to me and the band, and hope that we can stay in touch as friends.take care! Emerson
Not so fast say Willis's former bandmates. The band isn't breaking up, they insist, its just down a guitarist. Here's their response, also sent via Myspace.
"Contrary to the My Space bullet-ins being spread around, Redline Defiance is NOT breaking up. Do to unfortunate circumstances, the band has decided to part ways with guitarist Emerson Willis. Redline Defiance will continue as a three-piece band until a suitable replacement is found. We already have a couple of strong candidates, but are open to auditioning all new interested parties.The My Space e-mail that is being sent out to all our fans of our break-up, is being generated by Emerson Willis out of resentment for the bands decision to move in a new direction. We have no control over this matter, as Emerson and his father control the passwords for our MySpace account. We ask all our loyal fans to PLEASE send a Myspace friend request to our management MySpace page/ www. myspace. com/paradigm_mgt or send us a direct email to [email protected]. We also ask that you will take the time to copy this email, and forward it to everyone on your myspace friends list. We will then be able to re-connect with all our loyal fans. Please re-post this message, as often as possible on the myspace bullet-in boards as well.
Regardless of these childish actions being taken by Emerson, we wish him all the best in his future endeavors. Although currently upset, he is still a good person and good guitarist. We hold no animosity towards him personally. The band just felt we could no longer grow or work together in the future. The decision has been made, and we are moving forward.
Thank you for all your continued support and we look forward to bringing you many more years of rocking music.
The new Redline will be more powerful then ever!!! Best wishes to all, RLD
Fair enough. Problem is, as Willis noted in his post, he owns the name. That would seem to pose a problem for the remaining members. Not to worry. The resident smart asses over at the DMB happily pitched in with a plethora of suggestions for a new moniker, gems like "Blue Circle Obedience," "Headline Reliance," "Redline Divorce," "Redline Refinance," "Parental Reliance" and "Bedtime Compliance."
Redline had been slated to share a bill with Yerkish and the Flash Mob this Friday at the Oriental. But it looks like Something Underground will now be filling the slot.
As they say, there's three sides to every story and the truth is usually somewhere in the middle.
-- Dave Herrera
