From 2/11 Interview
“The downside to having a reputation as being a notorious curmudgeon is that sometimes people in your day-to-day life will take advantage of that to try to get things out of you. That caused a lot of problems in the band. When people use your public persona against you, it’s going to cause problems. That’s what happened when I moved on without Jughead – he tried to sic the fans against me by going public with his complaints about me. Which, obviously, only made it that much more clear that I couldn’t work with him anymore. Those guys knew I wasn’t my public persona but they’d sort of play it like I was sometimes. If any of them ever chose to blow off steam about me, they weren’t going to have to look far to find a sympathetic ear. That caused a lot of problems – mostly for them, ultimately.
“But I’m not an easy person to get along with, nor do I want to be. I expect the other musicians to work hard, and a lot of them don’t want to. I suffer fools badly, and most musicians are fools. I don’t tolerate drunks. I’m loyal to a fault, and I expect loyalty from the people I work with. Most people can’t handle being loyal to a guy with a public reputation like mine. It’s easier to go along with the crowd. It’s tough being in this band, and I like it that way. I want to work with people who have balls and brains and want to work hard when we work, but not be on the road constantly. It’s not easy to find people like that. It’s kind of a miracle that I’ve managed to keep any semblance of a band together.”
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I read over the attitude and while I don’t know Ben, or any of the other former members of the band, I respect the attitude in the interview. Hopefully once the dust clears SW will start touring again. Everyone has their moments they look back on and, no matter how much time passes, grimace inwardly about. I’d say the current controversy can be categorized as such. It doesn’t diminish my respect, its just part of life.
June 9, 2011 at 2:58 am
Ben, you tell me where to sign up and I will drop the world to play and write with you. I’m a rhythm guitarist by trade but I’m capable and willing to learn anything. I’m loyal, and I bust my ass, when can we start?
June 9, 2011 at 6:21 am
Today’s pop-punkers don’t appreciate sarcasm…they won’t even give it a chance. There are a few songs on FWM that are just hysterical…which is classic SW to me. We are in the midst of dealing with the “time-out” generation. They think fans over 35, like me, are just jaded…which is a concept foreign to them. Maybe that’s because their favorite bands haven’t broken up yet. Once you get a little jaded…you stop getting offended by everything and learn that life actually isn’t so bad after all.
June 12, 2011 at 6:42 am
Johnny Ramone was disliked, and deemed “difficult to work with,” and he’s the coolest mother fucking punk who ever lived. So I’d say that you’re in some pretty good company man.
Personally I don’t get the music/scene today. Much too sensitive and “PC”. But then again I’m old (35) lol. Can you imagine how a Johnny Thunders tirade would go off today? I’m pretty sure today’s fans would start crying, and pissing themselves.
June 18, 2011 at 1:53 pm
It must be weird to be famous.
June 29, 2011 at 11:22 pm