So, you've joined a band.
With all the fuss of finding the right people
to play with, finding somewhere to play, and
figuring out what to play.
it probably all feels like a lot right now.
But you persevere.
You practice day in and day out, playing the
tiny gigs, paying your dues, and you think
that maybe, just maybe, this might all be
going somewhere.
And then you get kicked out.
"You're a good guitar player, but it's the
20 minute solos, the stage dives, trying to
land a record deal here, man.
And you're an embarrassment."
You pick up your instrument and walk off bitterly
into the sunset.
Then, six months later, they're the biggest
band on the planet — and they did it all
without you.
This may sound like a literal nightmare, but
it actually happens.
Just ask these poor souls… may they rock-n-roll
in peace.
Jason Everman and Nirvana
Bass and guitar player Jason Everman might
be the only person in history to have the
distinction of being kicked out of two of
the world's biggest bands.
After a troublesome childhood developed into
a love for punk rock, Everman joined a little
band called Nirvana in the late '80s through
a connection with a childhood friend.
He became an integral member, but soon soured
on the touring lifestyle and cut himself off
socially from the band.
Kurt Cobain would later dismiss Everman as
nothing more than a moody metalhead, and he
was kicked out of the band shortly after.
Everman would then go on to join Soundgarden,
in 1990 which he seemed to enjoy.
"Who's the new bassist?"
"You are…"
"Jason we decided to have you in the band,
congratulations"
It was a shock, then, when Chris Cornell and
the rest of the band called a meeting and
kicked Everman out at the end of a tour.
According to Soundgarden's road manager, it
came down to much the same reason as his dismissal
from Nirvana: They felt he had a moody attitude.
Nirvana and Soundgarden soon became two of
the biggest bands on the planet.
Everman went on to a couple different bands,
before joining the U.S. Army.
He ended up in Special Forces and would go
on to fight in Iraq.
LaTavia Roberson and Destiny's Child
Not only were Destiny's Child one of the most
prolific girl groups of the '90s and early
2000s, but their success also led to titanic
solo careers for some of its members, including
Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams and, of course,
Beyoncé.
The original line-up, however, looked a little
different... with Williams off the roster
and two other members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia
Roberson in her place.
Roberson was a member of Destiny's Child during
the late '90s and enjoyed the band's early
successes.
It was only in 2000, when she and Luckett
saw the video for "Say My Name" on TV, that
they realized they had been unceremoniously
kicked out of the group, courtesy of Beyonce's
dad and band manager, Matthew Knowles.
"My issues were never with the girls, my issues
were with management"
They were replaced almost immediately by Williams
and short-term member Farrah Franklin.
While Roberson would suffer from severe bouts
of depression as a result of her break-up
with the band, Destiny's Child went on to
become one of the most successful groups in
pop history.
Pete Best and The Beatles
By far history's most notorious story of a
band firing is that of Pete Best; the Fifth
Beatle - or at least one of the many to be
called such.
"The fourth member of the group doesn't really
look much like Ringo Starr, and that is of
course, because he is not"
Best joined the Beatles in 1960, as the band's
drummer, but his stint came to an end two
years later after management voiced displeasure
with Best's talent or lack thereof.
John Lennon remembered,
"By then we were pretty sick of Pete Best,
too, because he was a lousy drummer, you know?
He never improved, you know?"
On August 16, 1962, Best was dropped off at
a record store owned by Beatles manager Brian
Epstein, where Epstein informed Best he was
being replaced by Ringo Starr.
Stung by betrayal, Best refused to play at
the gigs scheduled prior to Ringo's arrival.
The band's fans took it sourly, with one even
attacking George Harrison outside the Cavern
Club in Liverpool because of it.
John Lennon later lamented the band's cowardice
in sending Epstein to do their dirty work.
Tracii Guns and Guns and Roses
The latter part of the name "Guns N' Roses"
refers to vocalist and rock icon Axl Rose.
But what's less well-known, however, is that
the "Guns" part refers to someone, too.
In the mid-'80s, Tracii Guns was in a band
called L.A. Guns, and brought Axl into the
band after spotting him at a show where he
was singing for Hollywood Rose.
But when Axl was then fired from L.A. Guns
by the band's manager, they came up with another
plan to stay together.
Tracii told KTNV,
"We all lived together, so the same night,
we sat on the couch, and we said, well we
can't just stop playing, so we changed the
name to Guns n Roses"
Tracii only lasted about eight months in the
newly-named band, sadly, before he and Axl
found themselves engaged in a huge fight over
one of Slash's friends appearing on a show's
guest list.
Tracii left the band a few shows later, claiming
it wasn't fun anymore.
Whether there was something else at play with
his departure is a mystery, but it's worth
pointing out that Guns was replaced, a short
time later, by Slash himself.
Paul Di'Anno and Iron Maiden
Metalheads might recognize Paul Di'Anno as
a member of a bunch of different bands, including
Killers, Praying Mantis, and Gogmagog.
But his early days were marked by his time
as lead vocalist for Iron Maiden.
Di'Anno joined the band three years after
its formation in 1975, saying of their initial
collaboration,
"When it joined together it was fantastic,
it was brilliant...that was it, the start
of it.
It was great."
But by 1981, after recording only two studio
albums, he was kicked out of the group and
replaced by Bruce Dickinson.
Allegedly, Di'Anno was removed because bassist
and band founder, Steve Harris, was unhappy
with his vocal style.
But as Di'Anno told Ultimate Classic Rock,
"Iron Maiden is a money-making machine, and
I don’t give a f--- about it.
[...] It was not about drugs.
[...] But you need to take drugs when you’re
with Iron Maiden because they’re so f---ing
boring."
Dave Mustaine and Metallica
Metallica has always had a reputation for
excess, so it might sound odd that someone
would be kicked out for partying too hard.
But that's what happened to Dave Mustaine,
the band's original guitarist, in 1983.
"Our whole existence pretty much was for guitar
dominating the world and getting liquored
up."
The story goes that his bandmates, James Hetfield
, Lars Ulrich and Cliff Burton, woke a sorely-hungover
Mustaine and informed him he was out of the
band.
They had even already hired his replacement,
Kirk Hammett.
The band then added insult to injury by refusing
to fly Mustaine back to California, instead
buying him a ticket for a four-day bus ride
home.
"I had nothing, then I had everything, then
I had nothing again"
It was on that bus that a furious Mustaine
decided on the name for his next project:
Megadeth.
According to Metallica, their relationship
with Mustaine has improved over recent years,
and Mustaine even joined them on stage for
a series of 30th-anniversary shows.
Glen Matlock and The Sex Pistols
Bassist Glen Matlock was working in a clothing
shop in 1974 when he met Steve Jones and Paul
Cook, who, along with John Lydon would all
form The Sex Pistols.
After they had already begun recording together,
Matlock left the band in 1977 officially,
by "mutual consent."
He was replaced by Sid Vicious, and The Sex
Pistols became punk icons.
I'm not that kind of angry person anymore.
That's one of the reasons I'm not in the Pistols
anymore, because I'm not like that.
I don't go around stabbing meself in the arm."
Matlock would go on to form the Rich Kids,
a band that managed a few hits before disappearing
into obscurity.
He would also guest on various records by
other musicians, tour with Iggy Pop, and join
supergroup Dead Men Walking in 2001 with members
of The Cult, The Alarm, and Stray Cats.
Doug Sandom and The Who
Everybody knows The Who.
Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle,
and Keith Moon are all counted among the most
iconic musicians of the century.
But someone who has been left out of that
rock-god status, is a drummer named Doug Sandom.
Doug joined a band called the Detours in 1962,
sticking around when a naming conflict led
the group to officially become The Who.
But when the band landed an audition with
Fontana Records in '64 hoping it would lead
to their big break Sandom bombed his performance.
According to the Express, as Townshend reprimanded
him for his mistakes, Sandom could no longer
take it, recalling,
"I just got up from my stool and said, ‘That’s
it, I quit.’
It was the biggest mistake of my life."
But at 88 years old, he's not holding a grudge...
"I still think The Who is the best f------
rock-n-roll band in the world."
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