FILMS CREW BAND AARON COMES OUT SHAWN ZONE IN EXILE
By Kurt Parker
With FilmsCrew debuting four massive mastery of progressive post metal tracks last month of mathematically precise heavy time signatures beyond the boundaries of imagination, yesterday they disappeared from the site along with hot blonde guitar god ShawnZone. A Warner rep stated this evening that the tracks were to be released late this year in a limited edition vinyl package ahead of the re-recording of the enigmatic band’s debut re-issue. The most requested track Crying For Crisis streamed over 250,000 times since its debut a few weeks ago is now nowhere to be heard, undoubtedly the most intense tour de force Films Crew masterpiece to date with vocal by new vocalist Andrew Self and ShawnZone. Gone! ShawnZone’s Exile is now imposed. An alarming update to the ShawnZone Section of the site Films Crew’s new vocalist/instrumentalist Andrew Self states ShawnZone had all of his content removed and has probably quit his own band over what looks to be identical reasons from the devastating blow the band took during the very public 2014/15 break up over the then power couple ShawnZone and Aaron in which the double kick dynamo became erratic and abusive to his guitarist fiancé who took the blows gracefully taking its toll on ShawnZone who many ever wondered if he would rebound, it was the hot mess of a conversation topic from Manhattan to London, Aaron’s behavior was so bad no one in the NY music scene would touch him. Films Crew replaced Aaron with the taunt German Kurt Vogl. Down but not quite out Aaron was asked back into Films Crew while the band kept on Vogl. It was common knowledge that the then former power couple didn’t even speak to each other while working at which time Aaron revealed through website updates a history of severe child abuse and his connection to ShawnZone’s family who had rescued him. In those dark times the band became more mysterious, even reclusive taking their activities solely to Europe and The East after the disaster of the spectacle made out of them at the tender age of 18 with their debut Narcissus Echoes. Talk from a Warner rep in the early evening was that someone in ShawnZone’s inner circle had pushed him too far echoing an Aaron scenario, and one needn’t look too far into ShawnZone’s recent updates and work to figure out who that someone at the hand of that turmoil is. But the sly guitarist had his work removed. Except there is the power of screenshots.
Link to ShawnZone’s Page now abandoned to Andrew Self
Hot on the heels of the site scrubbing Aaron posted an update which provided many clues into the mysterious disappearance. The double kick heartthrob opens an update by coming out?, when he’s been publicly ambiguous since FilmsCrew hit the radar, digging deeper into his update he does make many mentions of duplicitousness, and how some ghoul probably in the band’s inner circle had woven a web of deceit ensnaring an ‘unnamed’ band member, (obviously ShawnZone) and had gone to some great lengths in this psychopathic effort, Aaron’s description is not dramatic it’s downright ice-cold chilling. As it becomes clear who is involved.
Link to Aaron’s Update
Aaron and Levi take to Twitter to exchange the rare public but cryptic dialogue.
The Warner rep I spoke to had some much grimmer details to discuss involving a stalker shadowing someone in FilmsCrew and they were on high alert status over the band involving some internet hijinks and threats, as well as some concerns over the band’s political activism. With Newbie Andrew in charge of the band’s Twitter, it’s been silent until today. While Aaron and Levi normally keep us up to date on the bizarre and have in the past publicly called out people, since last November’s site hack Aaron has been amazingly introspective delving deep into the psyche making him a bonafide writer well worth reading. While Aaron fought a tough road back to forgiveness it sharpened his senses keenly, calling out someone not to be the new Aaron and unfortunately that fell on some deaf ears given the current state of affairs. The site seems at a loss without the blonde bombshell ShawnZone’s insight and music previews. With Aaron and Levi at the helm of their website, there will be blood, as we all remember they take no prisoners. Andrew Self promises to keep us updated on ShawnZone however the Warner rep wasn’t on point with that, and was quick to point out that there were many unknowns in the guitarists life over the last year which haven’t been made public, the word traumatic was used. Whether the break from the band is permanent or not, ShawnZone has always been one of the very few gracious and kind individuals in music, despite never willing to give an interview and walking out on the Village Voice, With that grace it’s only a matter of time before he was taken advantage of again, as it seems to be here. To whoever would torment that soul, I hope you find your place in your own private hell
Update. I reached out to the management for Films Crew and was told there was a possibility that someone from Films Crew will speak to me off the record, as long as there is no interview. Meanwhile I don’t think Aaron and Levi will stay quiet in their discontent.
Courtesy Village Voice