Nashville Rock N Pod Expo organizer fires back at Vinnie Vincent’s alleged reasons for not appearing

Nashville Rock N Pod Expo organizer fires back at Vinnie Vincent’s alleged reasons for not appearing

Decibel Geek Podcast principal and Nashville Rock N Pod Expo 2 organizer Chris Czynszak has provided a response to former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent‘s insults and alleged reasons for pulling out of the Expo, which will be taking place at the Nashville Palace in Nashville, Tennessee, USA on August 25, 2018.

The public dispute between the two started when Czynszak went public on the Decibel Geek Podcast‘s Episode 323 (with was released on June 3, 2018) with his reasons why Vincent was not appearing anymore at the Nashville Rock n Pod Expo 2. Czynszak claimed that Vincent originally agreed to appear at the Expo without an appearance fee but then reneged on their original agreement by requesting a monetary guarantee and deposit which forced Czynszak to have to cancel Vincent‘s appearance.

Vincent fired back on June 4, 2018 alleging that there was no contract in place and that he was “insulted” by Czynszak to the point that he decided to pull out. Vincent did admit asking for a guarantee but didn’t provide much details in that regard.

Czynszak has now responded to Vincent by addressing the guitarist’s points with the following statement:

“To VVhom It May Concern:

Over the past few days, the cancellation by an artist at the Rock and Pod Expo has been covered by various podcasts and commenters on social media, with various takes on the events and circumstances surrounding it. While some of the posts have been on target with the details, others have been more emotionally driven.

First, the Rock and Pod Expo isn’t a show, it isn’t a get rich quick scheme, and it certainly isn’t a money-making venture. It is, at its core and in practice, a podcast trade expo offered as an event open to the community of Podcasters and fans to meet and promote their shows and for artists to meet fans and promote their own sales. In this matter it was extended as a free opportunity for Vinnie to attend and be promoted by us at our expense to address fans and make money by selling his wares.

An appearance contract wasn’t written because this was never a business deal. This was simply an offer to be a part of the Expo as just one stop on the hopeful comeback road. We were elated at the opportunity to offer up a slot for Vinnie to use; if there was anything at all we could do to help him make the comeback a reality, it was our pleasure to do so.

The issue over the offensive “avatar” had been rectified as we understood it after speaking with his management and forwarding the answers about its source from the site’s administrator, so were taken aback when it was cited as an intentional attack on him and the cause of his cancellation. The tag was, in fact, an offensively worded label that’s assigned as a part of the FRS programming of the site that denotes the level of user activity and was attached to dozens of users. While many boards simply rank users by the number of posts they’ve made as novice-expert, the rankings there were written as something the prior site owner deemed KISS relevant. It was apparently supposed to be humorous but wasn’t, and since I only occasionally posted there I hadn’t noticed it, to my error.

After this I was informed that a fee would have to be paid for Vinnie to show up and to contact management for numbers as a modification of the original offer to appear. Since we weren’t booking talent for expo profit, and the overriding purpose wasn’t dependent on a single appearance, this obviously wasn’t an option. So, as much of a disappointment as it was, we dropped the plan for any appearance by him and prepared to move on with the other guests without engaging in negotiations with VV management.

While I greatly regret the loss to the fans of the opportunity to see Vinnie make a rare public appearance and our ability to help him in this comeback endeavor, I’m also shocked that the matter has been portrayed as it has. Yes, there was no appearance contract, we don’t make any vendor sign one to show up and make sales, which is what he was in this situation. They’re business professionals, if they aren’t interested in operating their business we aren’t in the practice of forcing them to do so. Yes, the user label that has now been permanently removed the site code was blatantly insulting and offensive, but apparently not so much that a sales guarantee wouldn’t rectify any offense.

So in response, I feel that it is now in the best interest of all to go the way of others before me and cease all engagement with the party involved, and to simply wish him the best of luck in the future.

Regards, Chris“

At the end of the day, it appears that Vincent, no matter how he felt about Czynszak, was willing to appear at the Nashville Rock N Pod Expo 2 if he received more money.

The Nashville Rock N Pod Expo 2 will still be going ahead at the Nashville Palace in Nashville, Tennessee, USA on August 25, 2018 with featured guests including renowned producer Michael Wagener, singer Mitch Malloy, former Loudness singer Michael Vescera, Bang Tango guitarist Drew Fortier, Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch and many more.