*snip*
That is certainly one way to interpret what was said. But the comment that Shadows made was in the context of [paraphrase] "why did you pick a no-name to fill on on drums?" And the response was [paraphrase] "Mike is a legendary, great drummer with his own huge personal reputation, and we aren't looking to be 'Avenged Sevenfold + [insert big name musician here]--we're just Avenged Sevenfold." In context, another likely interpretation of the comment is simply, [paraphrase] "We don't want to bring in somebody big as a permanent member because we want to be judged as the existing band, not the existing band plus somebody else, and any big name musician brings their own perceived status that gets in the way of the band just being the band." I could be wrong, but that seemed to be all he was saying. I think a lot of us just assumed more than that because Mike was in fact being way too personal and way to public about things, and we just assumed that carried over into his relationship with A7X. But how they treated him is perfectly consistent with how they are treating the guy that jumped in after. They have said he seems like a great fit, but they don't want to rush and make him a member of the band because, in the end, it's about the band, not any individual. Why be so cautious if he seems like such a great fit? Because that's just how they do things.
And, again, if it were anything different than them going forward with exactly what they and Mike said was the original plan, why wouldn't Mike have been more direct and said, "I was lied to" or "I was misled into thinking ___?" He hasn't exactly held back those kinds of thoughts in recent history. I see no reason why he wouldn't come out and say so if he thought they had promised him something more than the original agreement and then changed course. I think he just
assumed that since he was now (after leaving DT) available longer than what was originally agreed to, that everyone would scuttle the agreement and keep him on. But I think that was simply a mistake on his part. Likely, by the time Mike made the decision to leave DT, A7X had already reached out to the next guy and had him learning the songs. Remember, this is what Mike himself said in May 2010: "Although I wish I could stay on board with A7X in a more permanent capacity, the reality is that I am committed to Dream Theater as my main priority and I will need to resume work with DT to start a new album at some point in 2011.....However, I will be able to join my brothers in Avenged Sevenfold for at least the duration of their touring throughout 2010.....You can look at me like the band's "rebound drummer" to buy them some time until they are comfortable and ready to make a commitment to somebody new for full-time relationship in their future!" In September, he leaves DT. His last date with them is 12/11, I believe. And they had a whole string of new dates set to start in January. Of course they would have had to have someone ready to jump in. Given their HEAVY tour schedule the last 4 months of 2010, I'm sure they had auditioned someone for the transition long before they got on the road and that he was already working on the material.
I could be wrong, but the timing of everything just seems to fit better that way than assuming it was anything more.
Topic: A conversation with Syn Gates about MP... (Read 3858 times)