“We fired you last night because you hate dogs”: CKY frontman makes bizarre claim over bassist’s exit
Things have taken a strange turn in the CKY camp. Last week, bassist Mike Leon announced his departure from the band, citing what he describes as a toxic and increasingly unworkable environment driven by frontman Chad I Ginsburg.
Ginsburg has since publicly disputed the claims, insisting Leon was actually fired for entirely different reasons, including an alleged dislike of touring with dogs.
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Taking to Instagram on Friday (20 February), Leon confirmed he would not be joining the band for its upcoming shows. The bassist – formerly of Soulfly – says his stint in CKY began as a dream opportunity but ultimately unravelled behind the scenes.
“I want to let you know that my time with CKY has come to an end. Growing up, I was a huge fan of the band, and getting the opportunity to play with them was a dream come true. I genuinely enjoyed my time there, and it was fun… until it wasn’t.”
“For full transparency, I will not be participating in the band’s upcoming shows,” says Leon. “As unfortunate as this is, given the circumstances, I believe this was the right move to make. The differences regarding logistics and business decisions, primarily driven by the actions of the band’s leader [Ginsburg], created internal issues that made an already stressful environment increasingly difficult to work in.”
The bassist also alleges long-standing issues within the band’s leadership, saying “this unprofessionalism and lack of accountability was known well before I joined, and persisted throughout my time with the band, making day-to-day operations a constant challenge. The love I had for the band blinded me to the red flags my peers and the band’s previous history had warned me about, especially surrounding the frontman, yet I chose to believe things would be different.”
“In all of my years of working in this industry, I have never experienced this level of toxicity from an individual, and it stings extra having been perpetrated by the very band that first inspired me to start my career as a musician,” the statement continues.
“Music should be a source of joy, but the environment became a source of stress that ultimately outweighed the positive aspects of being part of the band I grew up loving. I will continue creating music, and I sincerely thank all of you for your unconditional support.”
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Ginsburg has since responded via Instagram Stories [via Stereogum], flatly rejecting Leon’s version of events.
“I don’t know what Mike Leon is talking about in his post. However, I do know the facts and the facts are, Mike, and you know them too, is that we fired you last night because you hate dogs and you didn’t want to tour with the dogs and you wanted more money and you weren’t happy with anything ever. So unfortunately it’s not working out, Mike. But what you wrote is fucking crazy, dude. Like, prove any of that fucking shit.”
The musician then posted requests for bassists from Nashville to DM their auditions to the band.
The public fallout adds to a turbulent chapter for CKY. In 2024, Alien Ant Farm frontman Dryden Mitchell kicked the band from a tour after Ginsburg reportedly punched him during a backstage altercation.
The post “We fired you last night because you hate dogs”: CKY frontman makes bizarre claim over bassist’s exit appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
