Band who travelled 400 miles to play to just four people at Threatin gig hit out at 'rock idol' who faked fanbase - The Solihull Observer

Band who travelled 400 miles to play to just four people at Threatin gig hit out at 'rock idol' who faked fanbase

Solihull Editorial 14th Nov, 2018 Updated: 14th Nov, 2018   0

A ROCK band who travelled 400 miles to play alongside a ‘rock icon’ have hit out at the ‘appalling’ behaviour of an American musician who faked his fanbase to secure gigs.

Luna Kiss were caught up in the ‘scandal’ of LA metal musician Threatin – who pretended to have a fans and ticket sales to book a European tour.

But often no audience members turned up, and in the case of the show supported by the Warwickshire band only four turned out to watch.

By the time it was Threatin’s turn to take to the stage everyone had left.




Quartet Luna Kiss – whose members hail from Leamington, Coventry and Solihull – were contacted by the booking agent for metal musician Jared Threatin asking if they wanted to support him in Newcastle.

The local band – who have played sell-out gigs and European tours – were told Jared, who plays with session musicians and goes by the band name Threatin, was signed to the same record label as Whitesnake and Motorhead and their last single charted in the Top 40 in seven countries.


A closer look at his social media pages showed he had 38,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook and a large YouTube following.

Despite the show being on Sunday night and members of the band all having work early the next morning, they agreed to the gig after being told by Threatin’s so-called agent that there would be ‘exposure to a wider audience and the opportunity to make some good music industry contacts.’

Wil Russell, lead singer and guitarist for the band said: “The doors opened at 7.30pm and it was quite clear something was wrong.

“He managed to book a European tour without any fans, fake ticket sales, YouTube views and even a fake agent.

“We were caught up in this scandal. It’s appalling that this has happened. It’s hugely disrespectful to every band that works so hard to get to where they are and to every venue he played, that in this current musical climate is already feeling financial pressures.”

At venues, such as the Exchange in Bristol, Threatin’s agent said 180 tickets had been sold – but the audience was made up of only the support band’s guest list.

Since the news has transpired, Threatin’s unwitting drummer and bassist – hired only for the tour – have quit after it came to light that the promoter lied about ticket sales, and the clamouring Facebook fans were fake accounts created in Brazil.

Venues have hit out at the loss of money and places on their stage.

But Luna Kiss have vowed to return to Newcastle in future.

Wil added: “We can only thank the very small crowd of people who welcomed us to Newcastle and bought a record.

“It’s an awesome city and we can’t wait to give them the show they deserve.”

Threatin had not responded for request for comment at the time of going to press.

Visit www.lunakiss.co.uk to find out more about the band.

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