Threatin, BBC article

[Unknown_User]

Wow what a story.  I think fair play to him.  I can't imagine having the wherewithal to set all that up.  He's obviously done well for himself.  I wonder where his money came from to do all of that if he was just flipping burgers for a living, but he's probably made it back with all the youtube views and publicity he's had.  Plus if he is now getting people wanting to get him to play their venue after having heard of what he's done, then he's been very successful with it.

As for people getting treated shabbily then maybe that's one way to look at it, but at least his band got a partially subsidised holiday to Europe out of it (apparently one of them had never been out of California before) and some touring experience and exposure for their musical careers.  Venues may have lost a little bit of money (apart from the one that frog marched him to a cash machine!) but doing business comes with risk and hopefully it was an easy paid shift for their bar staff, who are probably getting shafted for rubbish money on zero hours contracts anyway.

Win-win I say.

[ForestPoetry]

I'm in two minds. I'd like to shake his hand for elevating a practical joke to basically performance art. I'd also like to punch him in the mouth. 

[lozkerr]

2 hours ago, ForestPoetry said:

I'm in two minds. I'd like to shake his hand for elevating a practical joke to basically performance art. I'd also like to punch him in the mouth. 

You could of course do both, in the interests of providing a balanced response.

[Cairobill]

For an extended riff on the self funded and ultimately futile vanity tour, see the David Brent movie...

[Cairobill]

Thinking about it he is a David Brent character but more metal and LA in flavour...

[The59Sound]

I feel sorry for him.

How many originals bands have never had a venue get back to them, producer, label, management etc.

We've all been there. 

[Monkey Steve]

looks like it's all paid off - back playing the Underworld later this year:

https://www.theunderworldcamden.co.uk/events/2019-11-01-threatin-the-underworld

[Wolverinebass]

Well, that's sold me into going. "Come and be part of the meme." Er, no. Whilst there's a lot to be said for the sheer insanity to dream all this stuff up, there are certain things outstanding which need to be addressed. 

Firstly, this guy is a tool and if you go to this show you're enabling his narcissism and literally sticking the middle finger up to the musicians he screwed over to book his first tour and were left out of pocket trying to get back to America.

Secondly, the music is crap. You're going to heckle, not to see your favourite band. It's not 1986. This guy's stuff has had its time and it flies so in the face of the current "Mumford and sons acoustic indie crap" which is somehow popular that you know that nobody would go and see it were it not for the story and "irony factor."

Thirdly, it's doing someone else's band out of a slot. Melodramatic possibly, but everyone who's been in original bands has struggled to get a fan base and play bigger and better gigs. To see this knob blag it all especially when his tunes are crap quite irritates me.

The originals scene is hard enough if you don't do insipid acoustic crap, but to see this guy and his wife literally screw folk over and then get asked back really is irritating especially when there are many members of the forum whose respective bands would just destroy this jumped up, narcissistic, hair metal donkey's music.

It's a sad day that "irony" has now replaced "talent" as the driving factor. Welcome to the apocalypse.

[Monkey Steve]

Yeah, while I can understand the "let's see if we can make a quick buck while it's in the news" attitude, I'll be amazed if many people actually buy tickets.  It is a Sunday night, so possibly Vyner is happy to book a gig on the off chance that a few dozen people actually show up on what wouldn't usually be a big night out...possibly he won't be putting on a lot of bar staff that night or is charging a larger venue hire fee.

[lozkerr]

1 hour ago, Wolverinebass said:

It's a sad day that "irony" has now replaced "talent" as the driving factor. Welcome to the apocalypse.

+1 for this. I would not be remotely surprised to see a few tedious hipster types turn up, iToys at the ready to vlog the whole ironicalised experience:

"Hey everybody and welcome to my channel! Tonight me and Jemima are in the Underworld to see the global digital sensation Threatin - the awesome dude whose digital tour like literally broke the internet. This is a like totally exclusive gig with only a few selected attendees as you can see (waves camera around unsteadily showing a handful of hipsters standing around holding skinny lattes in one hand and their phones in the other). We're here to immerse ourselves in the like whole ironicalised experience. And hey, here he is!"

Holds camera up as Threatin swaggers on, trips over a cable and limps up to the mic. The camera wavers as he howls his way through all the tracks on his latest digital album - Pole In Ur Hole, Drop De Dax, Oh Yeh Baby, Baby Baby Me At The ABC (Adult Baby Club), Gimme All Your Money, I Eat Ur Az, Yeh Baby Yeh (Don't Stop I'm Cummin) etc.

"Hey, wasn't that just like so AWESOME? And look at this like cool merch! Cropped T-shirt (emblazoned with 'Thretin Behavior' and displaying ironic loose threads and pulls) only £49.99. CD artwork (CD case with a paper disc carrying a download code), yours for twenty-five pounds, exclusive tour poster (which has just one date on it) for thirty - this is just like so cool. I guess it's a shame you couldn't be here, but if you liked this, don't forget to hit Like and subscribe!"

I now feel ill after writing that.

Edited January 8, 2019 by lozkerr

[mcnach]

1 hour ago, Wolverinebass said:

Well, that's sold me into going. "Come and be part of the meme." Er, no. Whilst there's a lot to be said for the sheer insanity to dream all this stuff up, there are certain things outstanding which need to be addressed. 

Firstly, this guy is a tool and if you go to this show you're enabling his narcissism and literally sticking the middle finger up to the musicians he screwed over to book his first tour and were left out of pocket trying to get back to America.

Secondly, the music is crap. You're going to heckle, not to see your favourite band. It's not 1986. This guy's stuff has had its time and it flies so in the face of the current "Mumford and sons acoustic indie crap" which is somehow popular that you know that nobody would go and see it were it not for the story and "irony factor."

Thirdly, it's doing someone else's band out of a slot. Melodramatic possibly, but everyone who's been in original bands has struggled to get a fan base and play bigger and better gigs. To see this knob blag it all especially when his tunes are crap quite irritates me.

The originals scene is hard enough if you don't do insipid acoustic crap, but to see this guy and his wife literally screw folk over and then get asked back really is irritating especially when there are many members of the forum whose respective bands would just destroy this jumped up, narcissistic, hair metal donkey's music.

It's a sad day that "irony" has now replaced "talent" as the driving factor. Welcome to the apocalypse.

 

Some good points here but there's a recurrent theme of "and the music is crap". Ok, you don't like it, we get it.  But it's not very different from other stuff that is popular enough so there will be likely enough people who do like it. Calling it crap just makes you look a little... snobbish? I don't know what's the right word.

No, I would not buy a ticket, but that's a separate matter.

[ForestPoetry]

Quote

Come and be part of the meme

This really is a meme reality. Surely anyone else would have been blacklisted off the face of the live circuit?

[mep]

33 minutes ago, lozkerr said:

+1 for this. I would not be remotely surprised to see a few tedious hipster types turn up, iToys at the ready to vlog the whole ironicalised experience:

"Hey everybody and welcome to my channel! Tonight me and Jemima are in the Underworld to see the global digital sensation Threatin - the awesome dude whose digital tour like literally broke the internet. This is a like totally exclusive gig with only a few selected attendees as you can see (waves camera around unsteadily showing a handful of hipsters standing around holding skinny lattes in one hand and their phones in the other). We're here to immerse ourselves in the like whole ironicalised experience. And hey, here he is!"

Holds camera up as Threatin swaggers on, trips over a cable and limps up to the mic. The camera wavers as he howls his way through all the tracks on his latest digital album - Pole In Ur Hole, Drop De Dax, Oh Yeh Baby, Baby Baby Me At The ABC (Adult Baby Club), Gimme All Your Money, I Eat Ur Az, Yeh Baby Yeh (Don't Stop I'm Cummin) etc.

"Hey, wasn't that just like so AWESOME? And look at this like cool merch! Cropped T-shirt (emblazoned with 'Thretin Behavior' and displaying ironic loose threads and pulls) only £49.99. CD artwork (CD case with a paper disc carrying a download code), yours for twenty-five pounds, exclusive tour poster (which has just one date on it) for thirty - this is just like so cool. I guess it's a shame you couldn't be here, but if you liked this, don't forget to hit Like and subscribe!"

I now feel ill after writing that.

I'd like to congratulate you on the over use of the word 'like'. Sounds just like our 19 year old son, talking, along with many other young people.

[Count Bassy]

 

On 20/12/2018 at 13:51, ForestPoetry said:

I'm in two minds. I'd like to shake his hand for elevating a practical joke to basically performance art. I'd also like to punch him in the mouth. 

On 20/12/2018 at 16:46, lozkerr said:

You could of course do both, in the interests of providing a balanced response.

And shaking his hand means he couldn't get away while you punched him.

[Wolverinebass]

Just now, Count Bassy said:

 

And shaking his hand means he couldn't get away while you punched him.

Shake hands with the right, overhand cross with the left?

[lozkerr]

4 minutes ago, mep said:

I'd like to congratulate you on the over use of the word 'like'. Sounds just like our 19 year old son, talking, along with many other young people.

I had to stop and think where to put them. Over-use of 'like' is something that really irritates me, but i guess that's just my age. Young people's vocabulary doesn't age well at all - how often do you hear something described as 'right on' or 'chronic' these days?

Eee, when I was a girl...

[Wolverinebass]

30 minutes ago, mcnach said:

 

Some good points here but there's a recurrent theme of "and the music is crap". Ok, you don't like it, we get it.  But it's not very different from other stuff that is popular enough so there will be likely enough people who do like it. Calling it crap just makes you look a little... snobbish? I don't know what's the right word.

No, I would not buy a ticket, but that's a separate matter.

A fair point. I should have said his music is "derivatively challenged." Not crap. At all. 😋

However, it just kind of strikes a raw nerve in me how he treated his bandmates. The fact that I find his music cliched, hackneyed 80's throwback dreck is just an extra justification for wondering what's happening in the originals scene where the underworld will book this tool.

Now for the best bit. 2 of my closest friends are actually going. I declined their invitation. "But you like rock and metal Andy!!" was their reply. I had to literally hit myself on the back of the head to get my eyeballs to come down from inside my skull, they had rolled so far.

Edited January 8, 2019 by Wolverinebass

[ahpook]

4 hours ago, Monkey Steve said:

looks like it's all paid off - back playing the Underworld later this year:

https://www.theunderworldcamden.co.uk/events/2019-11-01-threatin-the-underworld

Yep and if everyone keeps talking about him until then he may actually have some people turn up this time.

I hope I'm not being too subtle here  

Edited January 8, 2019 by ahpook

[mcnach]

23 minutes ago, Wolverinebass said:

A fair point. I should have said his music is "derivatively challenged." Not crap. At all. 😋

However, it just kind of strikes a raw nerve in me how he treated his bandmates. The fact that I find his music cliched, hackneyed 80's throwback dreck is just an extra justification for wondering what's happening in the originals scene where the underworld will book this tool.

Now for the best bit. 2 of my closest friends are actually going. I declined their invitation. "But you like rock and metal Andy!!" was their reply. I had to literally hit myself on the back of the head to get my eyeballs to come down from inside my skull, they had rolled so far.

 

That's how it starts...

In a month you'd be wearing Threatin T-shirts and posters all over your bedroom...

[lozkerr]

1 minute ago, mcnach said:

In a month you'd be wearing Threatin T-shirts and posters all over your bedroom...

Ain't that the case. A text-book example of how to exploit the Streisand effect.... on second thoughts, that isn't actually a bad idea. Provided you don't leave people out of pocket, of course.

[Newfoundfreedom]

To be fair, if it works then I can't fault the bloke. There are many many amazing musicians and songwriters out there that never make it. There are also plenty of crap ones who do. The only difference is marketing. If he's found a way to exploit the system then good on him. The record labels pull dirty tricks all the time, why not the artists? All's fair in love and music. 

[The59Sound]

Fair play to him I say. If this is what it takes to get a tour which is attended by a good amount of people in this day and age then carry on. Even Mr. Grohl had to not be so nice when he was trying to 'make it'. 

[Sibob]

I actually see it as really cynical move from The Underworld. They’ve seen an opportunity to sell a bunch of tickets that will either see people simply not turn up in protest, or lambast the guy onstage. Overly negative and not something the live scene needs.

Maybe i’m wrong and loads of people now like his music.....that would really surprise me though.

Si

[Wolverinebass]

10 hours ago, Sibob said:

I actually see it as really cynical move from The Underworld. They’ve seen an opportunity to sell a bunch of tickets that will either see people simply not turn up in protest, or lambast the guy onstage. Overly negative and not something the live scene needs.

Maybe i’m wrong and loads of people now like his music.....that would really surprise me though.

Si

My mates who are going are doing so for the "irony." The Underworld have thought along the same lines as the idiots who thought it'd be a good idea to book Daphne & Celeste at Reading festival. I mean, nobody is going to bottle them are they? Obviously not. But if they do, wouldn't that be good sport?

Irony or not that guy isn't getting one penny of my cash as he's a narcissistic, manipulative creep.

[Sibob]

2 minutes ago, Wolverinebass said:

My mates who are going are doing so for the "irony."

They've got more free time than most of us then lol

2 minutes ago, Wolverinebass said:

I mean, nobody is going to bottle them are they? Obviously not. But if they do, wouldn't that be good sport?

The guy is an idiot, as you mention, narcissistic and pretty creepy, but doesn't deserve physical hurt.
If people sold it out then didn't turn up, I'd kinda get it.......can't even get people in the room after it sold out.....but he would see that as a win. Because of his personally traits, there's not a lot that could happen that he wouldn't see as a win.

But that's all still pretty cynical and negative where the music industry is concerned, shouldn't really be encouraged and further, especially in the pretty close-knit rock scene IMO.

Si