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It’s always interesting to see bands break up in public. The most recent example is the reunited Jane’s Addiction, who got into a physical altercation on stage in Boston in September. Midway through “Oceancise,” burly frontman Perry Farrell punched guitarist Dave Navarro for reasons that are still unclear. Farrell had to be restrained, Navarro left the stage and the show ended abruptly, along with the tour. A flurry of public statements followed from both sides, with Farrell’s wife saying Farrell suffers from tinnitus and struggling to sing in front of loud bands, Farrell apologizing and taking responsibility, but Navarro referred to “ongoing patterns of behavior” and “mental health issues”. “Health difficulties on Farrell’s part.” This was a 65-year-old man trying to punch a 57-year-old man, but it dominated the music news cycle for several days. I wasn’t much of a fan of Entourage’s theme song, “Superhero,” but I couldn’t look away.
Another band, the Akron, Ohio, duo The Black Keys, has been experiencing public struggles in recent months after a series of bad decisions. Due to poor ticket sales for the North American dates of the International Players Tour, and venues with “Arena” and “Center” in their names one after another, the band ceased activities, released a statement on Instagram, and deviated from their purpose. did. The real question is, citing recent European shows in smaller venues like the Brixton Academy in London and the Zenith in Paris (and had to be there), he said, “Similarly… We promise to come back when we find a way to provide an exciting and intimate experience.” American side. A few days later, drummer Patrick Carney said on Twitter that the band was “messed up”, adding: “I’m going to show you guys how to avoid the same thing happening to you.”
It was later reported that the Black Keys had broken up with managers Irving Azoff and Steve Moir. Some of you may be familiar with the name Azov. He is the titular chairman of Full Stop Management, a notorious music industry mogul who has worked with the Eagles, Van Halen, Steely Dan, and several other boomer rock artists. He is also the former CEO of Ticketmaster. Carney hasn’t explained what happened, but before their breakup became public, he retweeted Azoff’s post about the no-harm clause, sarcastically thanking Azoff for “always looking out for artists.” did.
So, like most musicians, the Black Keys had problems and chose to blame management. They then signed with a new management company, Red Light, the world’s largest independent music management company. That probably solved the problem, right? Not exactly. Last week, the band announced they would be headlining an event at the Akron Civic Theater in their hometown as part of the 2024 America Loves Crypto Tour. It’s actually an even more cursed (and more political) reservation than the name might suggest.
