KING'S X Frontman DOUG PINNICK Addresses Breakup Rumors

KING'S X frontman Doug Pinnick has issued the following statement in response to rumors that the band were on the verge of breaking up:

"I wish I could set down and answer all the questions, and speculations. I will try to make light of some of the things said and suggested. You guys are wonderful so please dont take anything I say as negative or bitching... There's no anger here... just love.

"Here goes... We never fit in; no matter what we do, we can't get the masses on board, and we've done everything there is. I know you all have suggestions of what we could do do get more successful, but we have done everything there is to do! Or at least inquired about it all... We just can't get the folks on board. Woodstock '94 we played for 300 thousand people, and the next week on SoundScan we sold about 200 CDs. Then the week later nothing to comment on.... The rest of the bands on the bill — JACKYL, SHERYL CROW, LIVE, CANDLEBOX, etc. — sold millions!!! We got the best slot of the day, and USA Today, Howard Stern, MTV said we were the best band that day! We sold nothing... and it changed my life. I cut my hair and almost gave up! Plus I was going through midlife crisis. I started getting panic attacks and got blinded by my self-hate. 'Ear Candy' was the result.

"Management? We have had people check us out and they say were doing a better job by ourselves than they could… after they see what we have to go through to get a gig and keep the boat afloat. Others say we're perceived as an old band and they feel they can't help us.

"Record companies? We tried to give Atlantic a done CD with nothing to do but throw it out there. They passed, saying they are only interested in new young bands. ALL other companies rejected us except Metal Blade and InsideOut. Thank the gods for that...

"Booking agent? They say they can't get many promoters to bring us; they all think they will lose money...

"DEEP PURPLE? were trying to get on that tour, and anyother oportunity we can... but we have to pay to play, it's all political… That's the way all bands are treated now, they all pay, Ozzfest... The record companies pay to get all the bands on the tour. We don't have the $$. We opened for many bands in the past to no avail. A few new converts, but not enough...

"Paul Shaffer [of the 'Late Show with David Letterman'] plays 'Born to be Loved' all the time... but to get to play live on the 'Letterman' show? Practically impossible.

"I wish you all could understand how impossible the situation is these days for many bands. It sucks! The rejection to KING'S X is overwhelming in the music marketplace. You can imagine how it makes us feel.

"Christian music scene?? Yeah, we could have been maybe the biggest band in Christian music, but we're not hypocrites, and when the Christians find out that we drink, smoke weed and I am gay, they would turn on us anyway, so why go there? That just hurts. Besides that, they rejected us anyway after they learned who we were. They're human, they hide it. We're not like that, we're too honest. That's why I am down on Christian music. In the name of truth they live lies. That's never been me, or KING'S X. It's one of our biggest faults. The Christian music scene was a dead end for us no matter what had happened in our career. I am agnostic now anyway. We just couldn't justify being a Christian band. It just wasn't the truth. I was raised Christian and have seen the Christian music scene first-hand. I can't be a part of it and I couldn't back then either... and we're still called a Christian band to this day. It wasn't kosher back then either. I remember so many people saying that they couldnt get their friends to listen to KING'S X 'cause we were Christian, even though STRYPER were successful. Now it's accepted being a Christian band, but we're not one of those bands. What's done is done and it's the past...

"Downhill career? 'Manic Moonlight' was a good CD; I don't care what anyone says... I put my heart in that CD and wrote some songs that I am proud of. There was some wasted space on it, but isn't that the way most CDs are? We really did our best with what we had and who we were at the time. This band started out downhill, now we're in a hole. We couldn't get the $ for a producer for years, so we did it ourselves; at least we tried. Then we paid for Michael Wagener out of our own pockets, and finished the CD paying for it ourselves. We are really trying to do the right things, but all we get are walls. There's only so much we can do without money, record company support and attendance. We have maybe sold a million CDs combined from day one! That's not many in the real world. And Atlantic put millions into promoting us. More than most we have had the oportunity for exposure and we got it.

"I know some of you think there's things we should be doing, but trust me, we have tried or checked out all the possibities, it's just not as easy as you may think. We need all-ages shows, and it's almost impossible to get them. That's just fact. It sucks playing at such late times when people have to go to work or drive hours to attend. We always ask for early shows and all ages, it just dosent happen. Bands that are successful without airplay or much promotion? It's a mystery. We're doing what they did and here we are. We're going home from this tour broke. I get no $ when I am off tour, I have to fend for myself. That's life, I guess. Same as everyone else, I wish it wasn't so...

"25 years of doing this with KING'S X... When in the early days before the record deal, we couldn't get good attendance doing covers when the other bands we competed with packed the clubs... It's always been this way, we just don't appeal to the masses. Maybe if we had about 10 million to promote us??? But there's no guarantee. We're precieved as an old band in the marketplace that is well respected but not a moneymaker. Bands try to take us out with them but their management always reject us. We may not tour for a while because of all of this...we can't.

"We have made mistakes, for sure, in our career, but we have realy tried to do the right things. We're not the same people as we were when we started this band, and we always try to do our best and make the best music we can. Sometimes it didn't seem like it was the best effort at the time, but if you were there, you would understand.

"We are so thankful for the support from the faithful. We wouldn't be here if it wasnt for all of you people. The band is really down these days, frustrated, and out of money and ideas that will work. We're not young upcoming wide-eyed kids anymore, and this music biz is obsessed with youth. The whole U.S. is this way, just look around.

"It's not over untill the fat lady sings, they say... Well, she's at the mic…

"I have had a wonderful adventure being in this band and being me. I have been blessed more than most. I take nothing for granted. We could go on and on about what we should do and what we haven't, but at the end of the day, we have done the best that we could with what is before us.

"We're not done, we're not breaking up… We're still hoping to be the biggest band in the world, and I have many more songs in my head and on demos to throw out there for you guys… good or bad, you can decide. I will make music as long as I can breathe.

"I have questioned my whole life and this band's place in the world. It's still a mystery to me. This band I have invested 25 years of my life to... and I think about my place in this more than anyone could possibly know or understand... and still don't know why no one realy gives a feck on a major scale. And people wonder why I have low self-esteem. I am one of the biggest losers that there is, and I don't know why. No one in KING'S X knows why it hasn't happened for us... but I will keep doing what I do because I know nothing else and I love making music.

"Thanks for letting me ramble. Thanks for hearing me out. And like I said before, without you guys I probably wouldn't be alive. Thanks for saving my life. I love you all. Keep the faith. It's not taken for granted."