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Zeus Faber

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Participants AKevin Chavez3Jacob Roberts27Harold Lopez4Gerald Robinson4gentlepuma20amberskipper452Edward Grant63Zachary Thompson9stormywolf39Samuel Murphy6Jason Chavez32Susan Miller3Anthony Davis6Nicholas Perez33dustyscout15Jason Allen8Daniel Bailey7stormyviper11Sean Lee7mistypantherDrew Adams58Raymond Barrett12vividcanyon2
A Anonymous VeteranOP
3.6K messages
joined May 2005
#1 ·
I stumbled upon this on a random forum. Given some of the bad experiences I've had lately:

I'm sure many of you have already heard some rumors about playing with Zeus Faber—claims that Radovič screwed us over, stole our cut, and all that nonsense. I want to clear the air so people don't get misled or start thinking things they shouldn't.

Ever since the partnership between Zeus Faber and Denial fell apart (back on February 17th and 18th), everything went south. We're talking everything from the PA system in San Diego being non-existent, to their van breaking down, and finally, the cops rolling up to BRM around 1:30 AM...

Look, we aren't some wealthy band. We scraped together about $70 to cover a demo session plus a little extra to settle some debts. We were supposed to record the demo with the crew from Unholy Inqusition (Ernest & Dalibor), and we figured if we owed them a few bucks, they might just write it off... Anyway, the Zeuses asked if we wanted to open for them in San Diego at Metalmedia the day before their concert in San Francisco, but we had to foot the bill ourselves. Since we’d never played outside of San Francisco before, we agreed to make the trip to San Diego on our own dime. We basically threw $133 of our demo money down the drain for a Mercedes Benz... We showed up to this terrible venue with zero sound equipment... it was just feedback and noise... the whole thing was a disaster—I won't go into every single detail.

Basically, I accused Radovič of sabotaging the gig and pocketing our share. I was dead wrong. The police showed up because it was game day for the Kansas City Chiefs (we won 1-0, by the way!), so there were patrols all over the city! Radovič had reported the gig for 1:00 AM, and the show was supposed to start around 11:00 PM, but their guitarist, Tvrtko, disappeared somewhere. He wasn't answering his phone, and he didn't show up by midnight. Nobody knew where he was, not even his own bandmates.
Since it was originally agreed that the Zeuses would play first (because of the drummer, the sampler player, the fact that their gear was acting up and they couldn't get a decent sound, and the vocalist needing to catch a bus back to New York City at 1:00 AM, etc.), we were slated to go second. Fine, whatever—but then Tvrtko finally rolls in around midnight, and then the chaos starts: first with the bass amps, then the guitar gear—just a total world of shit, my friends... On top of that, BRM didn't have two tom-toms, so our drummer (uncle) had to drive like a maniac back to Cleveland, haul the gear into the room, lugging drums around, and so on... Just so he could get to BRM and hear from me that the show was off. My bandmates didn't blame me for arranging the gig with the Fabers (or Radovič, right?), but I felt guilty through and through. It ate me alive; I felt like the biggest villain, and I started spreading all kinds of nonsense about the whole situation. I was so stressed out that at one point, I actually had a breakdown.

Long story short: I take full responsibility for the massive lie I told by spreading all that garbage. I tend to be overly sensitive about stuff like this and about my band, which has become such a huge part of my life over the last year... I also want to apologize once again to Radovič and the entire local rock community.

P.S. I really want to highlight the complete lack of professionalism from Tvrtko—the guitarist for Faber—who was busy dealing with personal issues when he should have been focused on the music and playing.

P.P.S. I hope this answers most of what you were wondering. If you have questions, just ask... (Man, I'm not great at these posts because I'm still pretty shaken up by the whole mess).
Kevin Chavez3 Kevin Chavez3 Veteran
2.4K messages
joined Dec 2002
#2 ·
What on earth are you talking about?! 😲

The guitarist from Faber is actually quite handsome 👍
A Anonymous VeteranOP
3.6K messages
joined May 2005
#3 ·
On June 9th, Jan Kerekesh (from the young COLD SNAP crew) organized a little mini open Air in a courtyard near the gym, featuring guests ILLUMINATED and Zeus Faber.

To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled about their choice of Zeus Faber from the jump (personally, I don't buy into the music of people who pivot through six different styles—fashionable or musical—every ten years, and I've never been one for those "alternative snob" types...), but hey, these kids are actually putting in the work to keep our sub/urban scene alive, so we decided to give them a pass. The kids genuinely thought ZF was this massive, legendary, high-tier band. Since you learn best from your mistakes, we let them run with their vision, thinking maybe times were changing along with the people... We handled all the logistics, and the police gave us the green light to wrap things up by 11:00 PM at the latest (honestly, probably closer to 11:30 PM!). Posters were everywhere; the whole city knew about the event...

Anyway, that was the setup—just another outdoor gig...

Everything should have gone smoothly.

But the headaches started long before the show even happened. Emailing the ZF guys turned into a nightmare of constant date changes. On top of that, they kept trying to push other bands onto us, completely ignoring our clear messages that we weren't interested in their booking schemes or commissions. They were incredibly pushy and annoying about it. Also, after demanding an unrealistically huge fee, they eventually settled on a somewhat reasonable number (let's say XXX dollars) that covered travel costs from places like Kansas City or New York to Cleveland, while still leaving the band enough cash for skin treatments, waxing, or whatever else they need to maintain their look... blah blah (I'm exaggerating a bit, but it wasn't far from the truth)...

Once everything was finally set in stone, we counted down the days until June 9th.

On the afternoon of June 9th, around 4:00 PM, the sound system arrived, we started setting up the stage, and we waited for the bands to show up for soundcheck starting at 5:00 PM! Everyone was there, but then at 6:30 PM, Jan tells us that ZF messaged saying they won't be here until 8:30 PM and they'll need a full hour for soundcheck!?!? At that exact moment, we seriously considered canceling the whole thing. I mean, if an American band driving all night from Germany to Cleveland can make it to soundcheck almost exactly on time, I don't see why someone driving from Kansas City or New York can't manage it!?!?

That news absolutely drove us insane. What kind of professionals are these!? They demand big money but can't even bother to show up for soundcheck! We've hosted all kinds of bands from all over the world here in Cleveland, and every single one has managed to hit soundcheck by 7:00 PM at the absolute latest (barring a total disaster on the road), let alone for an outdoor show in the city center where we're strictly limited to playing until 11:00 PM!!! But, because of COLD SNAP and their pleading—yeah, it was stupid, but fine—we just did the soundcheck without them...

Oh, and the most important question ZF asked when they sent that update? "Will the catering be ready by the time we arrive!?!?"

Forget the catering. For our shows, we have a chef from one of the best restaurants in America (Zlatna Guska) cooking, and honestly, it's pure stupidity to order kebabs or pizza when you have an opportunity like that...

ZF finally rolled in around 8:25 PM, just minutes before the first band was set to start. Naturally, the soundcheck was already finished because with three bands and a strict 11:00 PM curfew, we didn't have time to waste. We had to crack the gate open for their van, while a crowd of kids was just waiting for a chance to sneak in...

From the second they arrived, they acted incredibly arrogant. They didn't even offer a proper greeting; they just vanished into the basement and spent their time complaining about the lack of kebabs (even though there was plenty of delicious, hot food waiting for them that had been prepared just moments before)... To top it off, they ended up getting more free drinks than originally agreed upon (say, XX), despite the fact that we met every single one of their demands (even though, despite countless emails, they never once sent over a standard technical rider...)

After that, they disappeared from the stage (leaving only some guy messing around with his synth toy...) and headed to a nearby trendy cafe—you know, one of those tacky, "fancy" spots in town where the wealthy, "I want to be a rich kid" high schoolers hang out—full of "fucked up rich emo wannabes" and all those insecure brats whose biggest priority is being seen wearing the latest clothes that cost 60% of their parents' paycheck...
A Anonymous VeteranOP
3.6K messages
joined May 2005
#4 ·
Honestly, we all kind of saw this coming—especially those of us who have been around long enough to know how groups like Zeus Faber operate. It’s just typical behavior for them. I mean, take their concert prep, for example... I heard that one guy with the blue hair was literally brushing his teeth with a toothbrush in the restroom right before they hit the stage!

By then, there were already about 80 people hanging out. Most of them work for COLD SNAP, but honestly, that didn't really matter...

ILLUMINATED knocked out their shortened 30-minute set, and right around 9:20 PM, COLD SNAP took the stage. They’re the local band that actually brought out the bulk of the crowd. Honestly, watching them perform was great—they kept those hundred or so kids totally hyped up with their energy.

Everything was going smoothly until around 10:00 PM, when Zeus Faber finally showed up. They started acting like absolute superstars, wandering all over the stage while Cold Snap was still mid-set! One of the guys from Zeus Faber actually went and cut the effects on the Cold Snap singer just so he could get his synth gear dialed in. Cold Snap didn't wrap up their performance until about 10:20 PM. We made it crystal clear to Zeus Faber that they had to be finished by 11:30 PM sharp—not a second later!

In the meantime, the cops have already rolled up twice because people have been calling in noise complaints. They gave us a heads-up that everything needs to be dialed back by 11:30 PM sharp!

Alright, we've reached an agreement with the police regarding that trip.

It’s unbelievable, but ZF doesn't give a damn about this... I actually warned that arrogant, blonde guitarist snail of theirs that it is CRITICAL they aren't still playing past 11:30 PM, otherwise we’re going to blow our entire deal with the police! The club is right in the heart of downtown, and our immediate neighbor is a freaking Archbishop!

His response was basically that they didn't care, because they were just there to play for their own fans (!?). At that moment, even though I absolutely loathe primitive behavior, I seriously wanted to deck him right in his stupid face! ...but given the circumstances—sadly, I didn't... (Look, things are a bit complicated here... COLD SNAP was playing with their guitarist, who actually came out specifically for this concert after undergoing an incredibly intense and dramatic surgery. It’s a tragic personal situation that anyone close to COLD SNAP already knows about.) That is the only reason we didn't try to settle our issues with the ZF crew the "quick way." I truly wish that young man nothing but the best; seeing him up on that stage, playing and looking happy, was such an emotional moment. Honestly, that sight made all the headache worth it. COLD SNAP actually wanted ZF to show up as guests, and they did everything in their power to make sure this show happened. They were begging, jumping through hoops, handling the registration, organizing everything... Still, I didn't want to ruin their good intentions, regardless of how messy things were... But damn it—I made a mistake!

I’m still sitting here nursing this grudge. I made sure to tell that blonde mantis that even if they end up playing a shorter set—and considering they only moved about 80 tickets, which puts them well below the average for a decent punk band—they’re still getting their full agreed-upon fee. (Yeah, right...) I think my facial expression made it pretty clear how serious I was, because she just gave me a quick "OK" before turning away. Honestly, I think they probably realized what was happening. Or maybe we were just dreaming...

Alright, look, Cold Snap wraps up around 10:20 PM. I mean, sure, it’s true the guys had a bit of a rough patch, but everyone there was calling for it, and there's still plenty of time left for a solid, standard set...

ZF is finally starting to take the stage, and they’re kicking things off with those marathon prep sessions—all that tedious fine-tuning and technical tweaking that usually gets hammered out during soundcheck.

We’re warning them again that we’re running out of time, but it feels like they’re moving even slower than before. Great... just brilliant. Those damn perfectionists.

They didn't even start playing until around 11:00 PM!

We all saw the police presence ramping up at the backline, so we knew what was coming. The concert kicked off on a terrible note; within those first few minutes, most of the crowd—maybe a hundred people deep—started losing interest and drifting away from the stage. Probably out of pure frustration with the vibe, Zeus Faber started picking fights through the mic, targeting the sound engineer, the audience, and the dwindling number of fans left standing there. But let’s be real: their subpar vocals are just being masked by heavy samples and sheer noise. To make matters even worse, right before things went south, some guy was practically demanding that they clear a path for some local model to walk through! Give me a break. It wasn't some punk rocker or an edgy girl; it was nothing more than a Levi's model—just some local poser he probably picked up at that trendy boutique cafe nearby. Seriously, gross. At one point, likely driven mad by an audience that clearly wasn't feeling Zeus Faber, they actually started screaming and ripped out a monitor (and these "stars" actually demanded three!). In the middle of that chaos, they unplugged the "slave" unit running the monitors—thankfully, only a fuse blew. The sound tech, who's handling the main PA, tried to take control of the show, but the younger crew members shut him down because they knew this whole mess would be over soon enough.

I’m not even going to bother commenting on their music. Everyone plays what they love, and honestly, that’s not really the point. But I have to say, even the hardcore fans at this show were completely floored by how terrible the performance was...

The truth is, by 11:30 PM, there were barely 20 people left standing in front of the stage. Everyone was just waiting for this disaster to finally wrap up...

Jan and I headed outside to wait for the police (which was the smartest move we could make), while ZF kept dragging out what was probably their longest set yet. They finally finished around 11:45 PM. The cops had already pulled up about 50 yards from the high school and were stepping out of their cruisers. We thought—phew, that was a close one. But then, we hear it from the courtyard: despite nobody asking for an encore, the band starts a whole new song!!!

Of course. At that point, we had to take drastic measures (something we’ve honestly never had to do before!). We cut the sound immediately, and since we were handling the gear(!), we warned the band that we were pulling the plug on the power right then and there. These jerks didn't give a damn and just kept playing. Fine. We cut the power, and that was that. We were prepared for things to get ugly with them afterward, but luckily, it didn't come to that...

Finally. That nightmare was over. We gave the agreed amount of cash to "little" Jan Kerekesh to hand over to them, while we went to talk to the officers.

Unfortunately, ZF had basically bullied Jan into letting them crash at his place for the night (I only found out later... what kind of "superstars" from overseas are these?!) so we could clean up the club and get ready for our morning responsibilities. We had zero desire or interest in talking to those ZF guys anymore; we just waited for them to finally pack up their van and get the hell out of the courtyard...

Later on, Jan told me they actually asked him for another $100 (!) because of the "good turnout" !?!?!?!?!??!?! And they claimed he should give them his own money!!! (So the deal was XXX + $100! = XXXX!?!?!?!) Those scumbags didn't even sell 20 tickets; most of the crowd showed up for COLD SNAP! Man, this is the last time the kids handle booking and running a show without us...

God, it's disgusting. I hope I never have to see the faces of those ZF guys again, let alone see them on a stage...

SUMMARY:

Since September, we've hosted about 50 shows at the high school. We've had everything from massive bands to tiny unknown acts across all genres. We've made a hundred new friends, and everyone left our city happy. In July '06, we're throwing a huge festival. We are the only venue in this area that consistently functions as a hub for youth urban culture, and all of this is the result of a few dedicated people and smart negotiating with local institutions and the big shots. We aren't going to let some alternative snobs ruin all that. Reasonable people can always find common ground; we've even hosted brutal punk and hardcore shows where everything worked out fine...

Those creeps shut the doors on our club and our organization, even though it never should have come to this. They took advantage of our good intentions and treated the kids who hosted them with total arrogance and disrespect. Honestly, I only regret that we didn't show up in Cleveland 6 or 7 years ago to show them what my generation thought of them and send them packing back to where they came from...

That's about it. I felt the need to say this because I can't stand arrogant, full-of-themselves people—especially "name" musicians who act like they're stadium stars from some drunken American tour. ZF has caused damage to other, much better, legitimate underground bands because, moving forward, most of our organizing efforts will be focused on old friends and musicians from Europe, America, and Australia... And hey, we don't feel a shred of guilt about that. We've been putting on shows since '92, and anyone who remembers the old scene knows exactly what I'm talking about. We've organized pretty much everything on the underground scene in New York City throughout history. Those were the good times, and I'm done dealing with caricatures like ZF. We paid our dues to the underground a long time ago.

The sheer arrogance and ego coming from Zeus Faber just proves to the kids—and once again to us older folks—that there’s absolutely no point wasting time or money on those overhyped, immature "internet illusions." Instead, we should be putting our energy back into supporting and building up actual projects within the local urban scene...

(By the way, just yesterday, two local bands played a show that drew about 200 people. Everything went perfectly smooth, with zero issues involving either the bands or the crowd.)
Jacob Roberts27 Jacob Roberts27 Member
39 messages
joined Apr 2006
#5 ·
you’re just a man with flaws
Harold Lopez4 Harold Lopez4 Newcomer
5 messages
joined Dec 2006
#6 ·
You can't really judge the whole scene based on their example—especially when you're ignoring all the other bands actually putting in the work and doing their jobs properly. You basically ran into the outliers, though honestly, I think those types are rare... even if most of those wannabe metal acts tend to act that way. Around my neck of the woods, there's this mediocre metal band called Ayin—guys seriously have no clue what they're doing—but the members carry themselves with this insane level of arrogance that's just pathological. They watch way too much MTV and that kind of garbage. I've heard about your club and it’s genuinely solid. There's really no point in you guys constantly cold-calling these unknown young bands. As for Zeus Faber, I'll just say this: more originality, less crap.
Gerald Robinson4 Gerald Robinson4 Newcomer
1 message
joined Sep 2006
#7 ·
You shouldn't attack a band just because the members have a different sexual orientation than yours. I’ll be the first to admit their music is pretty terrible, but there's no need to be unkind about it.
Attacking people simply because of who they love is wrong...
...it's much better to just stick to the fact that they can't play their instruments and leave it at that. There's really no need to start listing which member is into what, or who shaved before the show and all that nonsense....
Kevin Chavez3 Kevin Chavez3 Veteran
2.4K messages
joined Dec 2002
#8 ·
Good grief, I guess this is actually worth reading...
gentlepuma20 gentlepuma20 Newcomer
1 message
joined Jun 2005
#9 ·
No need, Gerald Robinson4 has it covered

The writing isn't half bad, though... maybe someone from Zeus Faber should drop by and tear it apart 🍿
amberskipper452 amberskipper452 Newcomer
3 messages
joined Oct 2006
#10 ·
The absolute worst part of my day was reading this thread... What even is Zeus Faber?
Edward Grant63 Edward Grant63 Member
18 messages
joined May 2006
#11 ·
amberskipper452 said:The absolute worst part of my day was reading this thread... I mean, what even is Zeus Faber?

Laundry detergent.
That's how it sounds, anyway.☕
Zachary Thompson9 Zachary Thompson9 Active Member
73 messages
joined Oct 2006
#12 ·
man, who even wears those beat-up old Converse anymore?
stormywolf39 stormywolf39 Member
17 messages
joined Dec 2008
#13 ·
I honestly thought it was going to be more of a... warning, you know? Something a bit more sinister 😬
Zachary Thompson9 Zachary Thompson9 Active Member
73 messages
joined Oct 2006
#14 ·
It’s like, honestly, those Faber factories in our neck of the woods aren't worth a damn. 😁
Samuel Murphy6 Samuel Murphy6 Regular
740 messages
joined Apr 2006
#15 ·
amberskipper452 said:honestly, the absolute worst part of my entire day was having to stumble upon this thread...

🙏 🙏 I feel the exact same way, even though I’ve only skimmed the opening post and these tiny little replies under 15 kilobytes.
Jason Chavez32 Jason Chavez32 Active Member
56 messages
joined Dec 2007
#16 ·
gay
Susan Miller3 Susan Miller3 Member
14 messages
joined Aug 2003
#17 ·
Even WinRAR couldn't compress this mess. A buddy of mine told me he tried to get one of them to hitch a ride to Kansas City, but the guy wouldn't budge, even though there was plenty of room in the car.
Anthony Davis6 Anthony Davis6 Member
18 messages
joined Nov 2005
#18 ·
But honestly, looking at the posts—or more like the endless manifestos—it feels like those guys in the group are just totally lost. I get the feeling they felt this massive need to smear them, or maybe I should say "present them realistically," before such a huge public shift happens. Of course, most people don't have the patience for posts this long. You actually have to sit down and focus to get through them, which isn't exactly easy if you're used to, I don't know, scrolling through quick feeds or whatever. And let's be real, they aren't just some isolated individuals, God forbid 😬
Samuel Murphy6 Samuel Murphy6 Regular
740 messages
joined Apr 2006
#19 ·
mjenje 😍
Nicholas Perez33 Nicholas Perez33 Veteran
1.4K messages
joined Jun 2005
#20 ·
And I’ve even heard rumors that Zeus Faber is out there committing all sorts of terrible crimes, like assault and murder, all over the place! 🙂

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