Marco Minnemann on DT

[SystematicThought]

I may be completely off on this, but I think the whole thing is a joke. I saw him at a gig in February and spoke with him inbetween sets, and he had nothing but nice things to say about the band. Granted, this was before the documentary was released, but with the smileys in his post, I wouldn't take what he said too seriously.

Also, when I spoke with him, he did mention that since they did have such great chemistry together, that he, JP and Jordan were going to do some sort of project together, strongly implying that it would be a side project. He NEVER said anything about them collaborating on a solo CD of his.

Yeah, I'm surprised too that it took so long to be quoted. I mean, he already did something with JR, right?
This seems like the most reasonable and informed response so far, but no one seems to have read it.

The one issue I have with it is that it was back in February before the documentary was released

[blackngold29]

JR and MM did the 'Musical Mind Meld' which was an online jam on December 15.

https://youtu.be/uxEhQRfkCfI

[Jamesman42]

Marco is the elmo guy right? Not the German guy, cause the German guy didn't look like he could whine like that.

Marco is German. Thomas Lang is Austrian.

Oh man. Replacing a Jew with a German would've been awkward.

[Gadough]

but with the smileys in his post, I wouldn't take what he said too seriously.

The smileys seemed passive aggressive to me, but I guess it depends on how you read it.

[JimmyJava]

Marco is the elmo guy right? Not the German guy, cause the German guy didn't look like he could whine like that.

Marco is German. Thomas Lang is Austrian.

Oh man. Replacing a Jew with a German would've been awkward.

[Setlist Scotty]

Been thinking about this some more and listening to the one CD set I picked up when I saw him - Contraire de la Chanson - and the one thing that stands out in his music both in the style of music and many of the vocals used is that there is a lot of joking/comedy in his music. For that matter, take a look at his website and the covers of some of his albums and you can see that he's not someone that takes himself seriously. Even some of the clips from his drum videos (as can be seen on a certain website) show his humor - for example, one clip shows him improvising drums to repeating clips of the Simpsons and other movie/TV clips. I don't know the man personally, but from what I have observed and from the little I've talked to him, he is a fun-loving guy that likes to joke a lot.

[rumborak]

He's still my favorite drummer, so maybe I'm somewhat biased here

I still can't believe that some people were miffed about Marco showing up with the Cookie Monster shirt. I remember seeing the episode and thinking "ha, I like that guy". Whereas when I saw Aquiles Priester I thought "ugh, somebody cranked the Metal Pez Dispenser".

rumborak

[Nest777]

Few new words form Marco:

"I never did things because of fame in the first place. Jordan is my friend and we collaborate, so when I got asked to play, I agreed, eventhough I never conciously heard a DT song before. The fact that I wasn't a DT fan or knew more about the band, was big part of the final decision. I always made clear that I didn't want to be part of a soap opera video and had a written gentlemens agreement, that if I don't want to be broadcasted, they would remove my part (they made me sign a release form 5 mins before we started playing, with that add of final approval). Unfortunately this got disrespected. So, I'm of course SUPER HAPPY to get so many nice comments from you guys. And I'm thankful for the lovely new friends I made through this. But when I get asked I will also tell the story. And I received dishonesty in that case, and my wish and opinion just got overlooked by the management. And that's not how you treat an artist. Like I've said, I didn't even get a DVD."

[7StringedBeast]

lol well if he signed the release they were perfectly able to broadcast his audition.  If he didn't want to be shown he would have had to opt out of signing the release.

[1neeto]

lol well if he signed the release they were perfectly able to broadcast his audition.  If he didn't want to be shown he would have had to opt out of signing the release.

And auditioning altogether. I find it hard to believe that he didn't know who DT was. As a drummer I'm sure he must've heard of MP. I have yet to meet a drummer who doesn't know who MP is and/or which band he used to play with. It's a shame that the DT management shafted him like that, but that's how this business is. He should just roll with it and enjoy the exposure it gave him. I didn't know who he was until I saw the auditions video and now I own the Aristocrats CD and it's bad ass.

Like it or not, this audition did nothing but help his career and he should be thankful for that. He certainly got more than $500 worth out of this deal.

[bosk1]

It's a shame that the DT management shafted him like that

Except that we don't know that anybody "shafted" him.

[lithium112]

lol well if he signed the release they were perfectly able to broadcast his audition.  If he didn't want to be shown he would have had to opt out of signing the release.

Yes obviously since he signed a release they could broadcast the audition. And I'm sure he understands the legal implications of this. But he also says that he didn't want to be involved in the documentary and apparently even had a written agreement with someone. It sounds like the management just disregarded his wishes and stuck a release form under his nose just before he was about to audition. At that point, what's he gonna do? Not sign the release and not do the audition? I feel like most people in that situation would do the same thing he did, especially if he thought he already had an agreement and whatever release he was signing was just a formality.

And auditioning altogether. I find it hard to believe that he didn't know who DT was. As a drummer I'm sure he must've heard of MP. I have yet to meet a drummer who doesn't know who MP is and/or which band he used to play with. It's a shame that the DT management shafted him like that, but that's how this business is. He should just roll with it and enjoy the exposure it gave him. I didn't know who he was until I saw the auditions video and now I own the Aristocrats CD and it's bad ass.

Like it or not, this audition did nothing but help his career and he should be thankful for that. He certainly got more than $500 worth out of this deal.

If you re-read his note, he never said he didn't know who DT or MP were. He just said he'd never consciously heard a DT song. Those are two totally different things. There are tons of big name musicians that I have heard of and maybe even watched or saw a few clips on Youtube, but I'd never actually sat down to listen to their songs.

[slycordinator]

He's still my favorite drummer, so maybe I'm somewhat biased here

I still can't believe that some people were miffed about Marco showing up with the Cookie Monster shirt. I remember seeing the episode and thinking "ha, I like that guy". Whereas when I saw Aquiles Priester I thought "ugh, somebody cranked the Metal Pez Dispenser".

rumborak

1) I felt a bit the same way with Peter Wildoer as well (wrt the Metal Pez), although I think he fit the band better than Aquiles.
2) If people are pissed Marco showed up sporting cookie monster, I'd expect them to also be pissed at Donati for showing up with a "hip-hop backwards hat."

[1neeto]

It's a shame that the DT management shafted him like that

Except that we don't know that anybody "shafted" him.

True. But I don't see why he would lie about it.

[bosk1]

I don't either.  But I also don't see why DT would shaft someone who is auditioning for them, so there you go.  Maybe DT did shaft him.  Maybe he is lying.  Maybe some things were said that he took to mean one thing, and DT took to mean something completely differently, and it's a big misunderstanding.  Maybe the production company that did the video did some things they shouldn't have, and DT had no say in it.  Maybe something else that none of us have thought of.  Bottom line is, we don't know, so we shouldn't go wildly spreading rumors that may not be true.

[Jamesman42]

^One thing we should know by now...it's never as simple as it seems in the DT world.

[7StringedBeast]

^One thing we should know by now...it's never as simple as it seems in the DT world.

and boom goes the dynamite

[MykeHavoc]

I had never heard of Marco until he audition. Now he'll just be one of the guys who got all butt-hurt over the ordeal. Him and that other guy...already forgot his name

[Nekov]

I had never heard of Marco until he audition. Now he'll just be one of the guys who got all Super Dude over the ordeal. Him and that other guy...already forgot his name

I didn't know who he was either. Now I know he is one of the best drummers I've ever seen perform. As I said before, this documentary thing was not good from the begining. If it ends up in more drama well, that's how it started anyways.

[Tumdace]

To be honest, Marco Minneman could have easily been DT's new drummer. I just think Mangini seemed like a better fit, and obviously he is fitting in just fine with them.

I wanted to see more of Marco, as I thought his drumming was pretty kick ass. But now that I know hes sort of bitter about the whole thing, I probably wont waste my time looking into his work.

Good job Marco and good job Facebook for ruining things once again. Why cant people just keep their mouth shut on Facebook?

[1neeto]

To be honest, Marco Minneman could have easily been DT's new drummer. I just think Mangini seemed like a better fit, and obviously he is fitting in just fine with them.

I wanted to see more of Marco, as I thought his drumming was pretty kick ass. But now that I know hes sort of bitter about the whole thing, I probably wont waste my time looking into his work.

Good job Marco and good job Facebook for ruining things once again. Why cant people just keep their mouth shut on Facebook?

Exactly how fb ruined things again? That damn submit button pressing itself again!

[Tumdace]

To be honest, Marco Minneman could have easily been DT's new drummer. I just think Mangini seemed like a better fit, and obviously he is fitting in just fine with them.

I wanted to see more of Marco, as I thought his drumming was pretty kick ass. But now that I know hes sort of bitter about the whole thing, I probably wont waste my time looking into his work.

Good job Marco and good job Facebook for ruining things once again. Why cant people just keep their mouth shut on Facebook?

Exactly how fb ruined things again? That damn submit button pressing itself again!

In the era before FB, you wouldnt have little conversations like the one linked where people just let out whatever they are thinking. Kind of like speaking before thinking, except you made it permanent when you put it on the internet.

[Kotowboy]

"It must be very hard for Marco, getting payment and good publicity for essentially turning up to a job interview."

 

[1neeto]

To be honest, Marco Minneman could have easily been DT's new drummer. I just think Mangini seemed like a better fit, and obviously he is fitting in just fine with them.

I wanted to see more of Marco, as I thought his drumming was pretty kick ass. But now that I know hes sort of bitter about the whole thing, I probably wont waste my time looking into his work.

Good job Marco and good job Facebook for ruining things once again. Why cant people just keep their mouth shut on Facebook?

Exactly how fb ruined things again? That damn submit button pressing itself again!

In the era before FB, you wouldnt have little conversations like the one linked where people just let out whatever they are thinking. Kind of like speaking before thinking, except you made it permanent when you put it on the internet.

Nonsense. The Internet has been around for a while. I can find things I said online from back in the 90's. At the end of the day it's the individual's fault for writing things on fb after knowing that it will be there forever for everyone to read. A person that's a public figure/celebrity/well known should have enough common sense that many people will read whatever he she said on fb or twitter.

In short, the individual is always, always 100% responsible for his/her own actions. To blame fb or twitter for "ruining things" is absolutely silly.

[rumborak]

"It must be very hard for Marco, getting payment and good publicity for essentially turning up to a job interview."

 

It might be hard to believe, but not everybody sees DT as the Olymp of being associated with. Marco has a pretty good career for himself, so this was probably a nice opportunity to check out a possible gig with a band, but not something where getting screwed over certain points would still force him to be uber-grateful to be associated with the "great and illustrious DT".

One thing that kinda struck me now is also, when you look at the audition videos, I think only half of the people auditioning there were *really* interested in joining DT. Marco's wording at the end of his audition is even "yeah, I can see myself as being part of DT", which is about as non-committal as you can get. I think Donati and Lang probably also just showed up because they were asked nicely and it was all-expenses paid.
I think Mangini, Wildoer, Priester and Roddy were really the only ones fully interested, with Mangini standing far above the others.

rumborak

[SystematicThought]

Roddy has said that he had no interest in the gig. He just thought he'd audition just for the heck of it

[Perpetual Change]

Good points, rumby.

DT didn't really hold "open" auditions; they invited people they liked to audition for them. That changes the game quite a bit. And, judging by Macro's words, it looks like the audition process was more like an exchange of favors, i.e. "You audition for us and let us put you in our DVD, and we'll give you $500 and guest on your next album."

[phentalmyst]

this puts the whole "marco got offered the gig but turned it down" thing in place that somebody on here was ranting about a few months ago...

[El Barto]

If memory serves,  Roddy said that Mangini was the only one of the group really interested in the gig,  although he didn't know metal Pez.  I know he went along because it's bad form to turn down any audition. 

I also recall that I was one of the only folks in here that thought the doc sucked;  cheesy, canned melodrama.  I can certainly understand why Minnemann wouldn't want to be a part of it.  The auditions seemed like a pretty cool deal,  and I'm sure anybody would have wanted in on it.  It probably would have been cool to make it crystal clear that the cost of auditioning was particpation in the video, take it or leave it, though. 

[BlobVanDam]

It's a shame that the DT management shafted him like that

Except that we don't know that anybody "shafted" him.

True. But I don't see why he would lie about it.

I don't think he lied. I think he just didn't understand the situation fully. I don't see anything legitimate against DT, and they have done no wrong here, but I don't see any reason Marco would lie about his grievances either. I think he's just naive. And there is no way his comments were a joke. The smileys were passive aggressive, plain and simple, not an excuse for talking shit about DT.

[rumborak]

If memory serves,  Roddy said that Mangini was the only one of the group really interested in the gig,  although he didn't know metal Pez.  I know he went along because it's bad form to turn down any audition. 

Metal Pez definitely wanted the gig, after all he canceled an Angra gig just to be at the audition.

Blob, I don't see how you could make the judgment that Marco was naive. He said the contract he signed stated he could opt out of having his footage being used. Unless you're saying the naive part was to expect DT management to abide by the contract.

Overall the documentary, as reality TV as it was, was a brilliant coup for DT. Even though only two of drummers were actually interested in joining DT, they made it look as if the top-notch drummers of this world were lining up, and that DT then chose the most fitting one. That quelled a lot of voices I think regarding the choice. All in all, DT was very lucky that MM was available.

rumborak

[BlobVanDam]

If memory serves,  Roddy said that Mangini was the only one of the group really interested in the gig,  although he didn't know metal Pez.  I know he went along because it's bad form to turn down any audition. 

Blob, I don't see how you could make the judgment that Marco was naive. He said the contract he signed stated he could opt out of having his footage being used. Unless you're saying the naive part was to expect DT management to abide by the contract.
 

No, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that it sounds like he expected them to ask him even though he'd already given them written permission to use the footage. It sounds like the "promise" was just a verbal thing with DT that they wouldn't use the footage if he didn't want them to, but then he signed a contract saying they could. Due to the chain of command with a band of that size, there was nothing written that they would explicitly ask him again, because they had permission to use it already. Why would anyone think to ask again? This is the entire point of the contract. The contract he signed.
It just sounds like a case of miscommunication to me, and sounds like he didn't really think about the logistics of how a contract works. Nobody is at fault here on either side, but Marco decided to unfairly throw the blame for this miscommunication DT's way, and I don't see any effort that he tried to clear up after he signed the contract and filmed the doco.
He apparently didn't want the gig in the first place, but he went anyway, signed a contract that they could use the footage, then got pissed that they used the footage, and didn't give him more for it? And he's blaming DT for this? Yeah....... ok. Sounds like he should have just stayed at home.

[rumborak]

I think you're making a lot of assumptions about the wording of the contract. Marco isn't some drumming noob; he will have signed many a contract over the years. Unless I am misreading his statements, the contract itself said that he could opt out of the usage of the footage. Not just some verbal agreement.

rumborak

[BlobVanDam]

I'm sure the contract probably did say he could opt out of the footage (I didn't mean to imply otherwise, sorry). But I'm not seeing him mention that he actually asked them in writing after the audition though. I'm saying this his understanding of them not using the footage was only spoken, and not in writing, so it could be easily forgotten or misunderstood.
It's a safe assumption that the contract he signed defaults to "it's ok to use the footage until stated otherwise" rather than "this contract means we still have to ask you later if we can use the footage", otherwise it would be a pointless and redundant contract to begin with.

[rumborak]

Ah, now we're on the same page.
Thinking about it, I could see how he underwent the audition, thinking the "you may opt out of the usage of the footage" clause just being plain lawyer talk. After all, he could never have expected that DT would produce this soap opera style documentary out of it! So, suddenly he sees this documentary and is pissed that they didn't even check. with him. Legally it was OK, just not the nice way. From DT's side of course understandable too, why ask if the answer could be no?
So, I can see your point of him having underestimated the thing (what you called "naive"), but DT doesn't come off clean either. They knew from the beginning they were going to produce this documentary out of it, and thus pulled wool over the guys' eyes regarding their intentions with the footage. That is "the business way", but I also fully understand Marco being pissed about getting duped by DT that way. You go into an audition thinking the camera is for the band's review of your performance,  but in fact it was always meant for the documentary.

rumborak