Tom Zutaut Calls Rock City Angels Allegations “A Pack Of Lies”
TOM ZUTAUT CALLS ROCK CITY ANGELS ALLEGATIONS “A PACK OF LIES”
June 9, 2009
Tom Zutaut recently contacted Sleaze Roxx to dispute the claims made about him by Rock City Angels bassist Andy Panik in a recent interview at http://www.sleazeroxx.com/interviews/andypanik.shtml. Tom, who is best know for his A&R work with Guns N’Roses, Motley Crue and the Rock City Angels sent the following email:
“Andy Panik’s interview is a pack of lies. He is correct in stating it would make a great screenplay because of the fact that it is complete fiction. There is very little truth contained in the entire interview and it is sad that a musician would go to such depths of lies and a total disregard of the truth in a desperate attempt to garner publicity for himself and his new band as his last gasp of breath.
For the record, it was the band as a whole that wanted to go to Memphis and make a punk rock southern rock record. The band chose to work with Jim Dickinson, who had produced The Replacement’s big records, to find this authentic punky southern rock record. When the band’s drug habits and alcohol interfered with the band’s ability to record, Dickinson started replacing the real instruments with a pre-computer era synthesizer which sounded even less authentic. Bobby Durango and the band decided to complete the record with one of ZZ Top’s producers/engineers and made a record which has been called a “lost classic” by many in the music press.
Bobby and RCA were introduced to Geffen and myself by their manager Grace Reinbold and their attorney Steven Weiss (who was also Jimmy Page’s attorney–Page was signed to Geffen as a solo artist at the time). RCA’s second manager was Phil Laredo. All 3 of these advisers let it be known that all Rock City Angels creative direction was to be guided by Bobby. Just about everything Geffen did to market and promote the band was agreed by Bobby and the band thru their respective management and legal counsel.
We had great expectations and high hopes for the band. Geffen Records spent a lot of money marketing and promoting the band. Geffen actually used the leverage of GnR’s explosion to garner exposure and opportunities for Rock City Angels. There is all this speculation from Andy Panik and others that somehow Geffen signed the band to bury them in order push GnR. This is utterly false and a myth perpetuated by disgruntled band members and fans to explain their failure to succeed. Sometimes no matter what you do it just doesn’t connect or find an audience. I am still mystified myself at RCA’s utter failure as I believe their album was one of the best I was ever involved with. GnR was a cultural phenomena that just exploded worldwide! If a label wanted to bury someone they would sign them and never record a record, yet release it a fanfare of marketing expenses, videos, and radio promotion. The label would just keep them on the shelf tied up in contractual litigation. It was the bands drug and alcohol use that destroyed them.
Unlike GnR who could function and perform while high, RCA were unable to function and play phenomenal gigs. This is why the drugs and alcohol imploded RCA. All those great tours the band did after “Young Man’s Blues” came out with the band’s management, attorney, and the label calling in favors to other artists for opening slots. Unlike GnR where a good percentage of fans rushed out to buy their album after seeing them open for some huge headliner, RCA just didn’t connect with the audiences enough for fans to buy their album because of their mindless self indulgences.
AS FAR AS MYSELF COMING ON TO ANY GUY (OR GIRL FOR THAT MATTER) IN ANY BAND SEXUALLY, IT IS AN UTTER LIE AND IT NEVER HAPPENED. JUNKIES LIE ALL THE TIME TO THOSE AROUND THEM TO COVER THEIR HEROIN TRACKS. BOBBY DURANGO WAS NEVER SEXUALLY SOLICITED BY ME AT ANY TIME. I ONLY EVER SHOWED HIM KINDNESS, CREATIVE AND MORAL SUPPORT IN HIS QUEST TO BE A ROCKSTAR AND MAKE RCA THE GREATEST BAND IN THE WORLD.
NEITHER WAS TODD POOLE FROM ROXY BLUE (which Andy Panik falsely claims in his interview). The only bad thing that happened to Todd Poole of Roxy Blue, or Salty Dog and Phantom Blue for that matter, was Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and the Seattle scene rendered them obsolete over night. They put a dent in GnR too!
Andy Panik should be sued and held accountable for being a complete libelous liar and should be careful about fabricating libelous hearsay to garner press for his new band and himself with sensational stories that never happened being told as truth. It is so easy to make up stories that you didn’t witness yourself and spread them as truths on the internet. This is why hearsay is not allowed in court proceedings. Anyone can make up any story they want about events they didn’t directly witness. It is called fiction and is used in novels. The truth is out there….just not from Andy Panik.”
Courtesy of www.sleazeroxx.com