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January 19th 2011, Los Angeles CA:

After going back and forth with my stance on the world famous Whisky-A-Go-Go, the events that transpired on the night of Sunday January 16th 2011 have led me into taking a final stance that is unlikely to change, and here it is.

I wrote an email to the president of the club a couple of months back, but I never even heard back. This is something I've been bitching about for quite a while now, but in case you still don't know what I'm talking about, here we go. According to the venue's "policies", no recording devices are allowed inside. Whenever I go to a show, any show, I always need to have my voice recorder with me because I usually have interviews set up before the show, in between two bands' sets, or sometimes backstage after the show. To clarify, it's a Sony ICD-P520 Mono Voice Recorder, and does not record music with even a single degree of success. Yet they give me shit for it. Every time. Every fucking time. I tell them that I won't be using it inside, but they wouldn't listen. But then one fine evening, one of the security guys told me that it's fine for me to bring the recorder as long as I leave it at the box office window before entering the venue, and collect it after the show. I thought to myself, fine, that works! But then everything changed last Sunday.

Last week was the week of NAMM, where I had taken all sorts of cameras and recorders in order to come back with the best possible coverage. The NAMM after-party happened to be at the goddamn fucking hellhole called the Whisky-A-Go-Go, and I went directly from the Anaheim Convention Center to the Sunset Strip. I didn't have a chance to dump my recording equipment at home. So when I tried to enter the venue, being on Deathriders' personal crew list no less, the security started giving me shit for my video camera. Thank goodness I didn't even have my voice recorder or else they would have surely and put me in prison for trying to make millions of dollars bootlegging the show with a video camera AND a mono voice recorder. So I asked him if he could hold it at the window and if I could take it after the show. He agreed. So in I went, and watched Michael Angelo Batio's set. After that I asked for the video camera because I needed it for another place I was going to in between sets.

When I tried to get back in for Deathriders' set, he wouldn't let me. He got all pissed off about why I asked for the video camera when I was going to come back. He then directed me to the manager who said to me, "This is not your house. We can't hold your stuff. Put it away or you aren't getting in". Now, I've told them a million times that I don't have a car to put my stuff in. Uh .. don't you think I would have fucking put the shit away if I had a car???

So I ended up missing the Deathriders set, and was clearly told that I won't be getting in with any of my recording equipment. The same people told me last month that I could bring it as long as I leave it at the door during the show. I repeat, I never use those things inside. I don't even take them out of my bag. I make every effort to cover all the metal shows in LA and do everything I can for the sake of metal, and these people are being a hinderance in my path. According to them, I should stop doing interviews with bands that play at the Whisky, just so that their fucking policies are followed!!

In conclusion, my sincere apologies to all bands who will play at that venue in the future, because unless I get a personal face-to-face apology from the manager and all of her security staff, I will not be covering those shows, and special apology to my friend and brother in metal, Mr. Neil Turbin. I really do hope your band plays elsewhere so I don't end up missing all of your shows. To my staff, please don't ask me for tickets and photo passes for any of the upcoming Whisky shows. I won't be getting those for you.

Whisky-A-Go-Go is a NO GO for Metal Assault. Thank you for reading \m/