They have been stalking me and making threats towards me repeatedly for years, but it's getting pretty extreme now. They are desperate in their attempts to cover or justify their outrageous acts of harassment against me (of which we have proof), so they are going to more extreme measures now to make their target (me) seem less than human and deserving of the hatred they have invented. This means that they create lie after lie just to cover their asses, to cover their lies and mistakes, their inadequacies, or they resort to simple intimidation- trying to make me out to be some sort of freak to anyone who may have been a fan, potential fan, or friend (hence the "Evil Sean Brennan" rumors one often hears in clubs), all in an effort to justify their jealousy and obsession.
Their behavior can range from stalking and assault to petty juvenile harassment; for example, they often harass acquaintances of mine they see in clubs, even going so far as to harassing a girl I had just started dating once, telling her countless lies like I have AIDS, I beat up girls, etc. None of which are true of course, but you see how desperate they are to spread their hate propaganda against me (and for no reason other than their jealousy of LAM's success, because I've never done anything wrong to these people). I hope you can understand the tremendous impact that these lies can potentially have upon my life. They have threatened to kill me, they have tried to kill my reputation with lies, they have tried to interfere with my personal life, they have tried to interfere in business matters with London After Midnight, and they have tried to get anyone and everyone to hate LAM by spreading rumors and lies (proof exists, just ask for it).
And they have been at this since 1992 until this very day, well into the 2000s! And why, you ask? There is no reason. I don't even know half these people and never did anything bad to anyone in my life- but they all know each other and all all associated with Jeremy Meza, Faith and the Muse, Element, etc. But what can expect from immature, spiteful drug addicts with too much time on their hands? People so in need of attention they will attack me and LAM, or anyone who is a "known figure", just to make themselves look big to their equally dysfunctional friends. It's all so unbelievably juvenile. The origin of this stems from when in 1992 LAM decided not to allow Jeremy Meza of Ghastly Magazine (later of the band Element, club Release the Bats, etc) to be a member of LAM (he wanted to play guitar for LAM). He was very upset over this. After this, due to Ghastly's sagging sales and because Jeremy was pissed off at LAM, Jeremy and his (now ex) girlfriend Tara Bai, decided to drum up attention for Nosferatu Productions/Ghastly magazine by attacking a well known band- London After Midnight. So this all began due to Jeremy's greed, ego and jealousy. And Jeremy's ego was bruised because LAM wouldn't allow Jeremy in the band because he abused drugs, he was lazy and he couldn't play the guitar well.
To show you what hypocrites these people are: In 1999, after years of serious abuse, lies, general immature "shit talking", seriously criminal lies, and physical threats from these morons, the people involved (Jeremy Meza, William Faith and members of the band Element) claimed to be somehow related to LAM in their advertising for the 1999 tour for the band Element. In an effort to draw attention to themselves they claimed to be an "LAM side project", "members of" and "ex-members of LAM", knowing that LAM was a known and respected name despite their constant lies and abuse. For the record Element is in no way associated with LAM. It's funny, how for so long they've claimed LAM was worthless, they've lied about me repeatedly, threatened to kill me, but then used my name and band in an effort to help their own bands gain an audience and credibility... hypocrisy.
I really can't begin to explain the level and extent of grassroots hate campaigning these people have waged. Suffice it to say that proof exists of everything we claim, and all you have to do is wander into an LA goth club and mention my name and listen to the lies people start reciting. And needless to say this interferes in my life in some ways. Anyway, here's a summery on the origins of this petty childish drama... (forgive me as I wander into the 3rd person)
In 1991 Ron Hexe formed Ghastly magazine/Nosferatu Productions with his wife Tara (Bai) Cormier. They were fans of LAM living in northern California working as janitors, and Sean Brennan of LAM convinced them both to move to Los Angeles in an effort to get things rolling with their new magazine and mail order business, Nosferatu Productions (they sold tapes and CDs, shirts and assorted Goth-related merchandise). Sean obtained for them a post office box, a voice mail phone number and helped find them an apartment (and move in to that apartment). Sean also spent hundreds of dollars of his own money promoting Ghastly Magazine (he was never paid back, nor did he expect to be at the time). Sean got both of them decent paying jobs at the company at which he then worked, and life was looking up all around for the Goth community in LA. About 6 months after arriving in LA, Tara, 27 years old, decided to betray Ron, her husband of 5 years, and have an affair with a 17 year old guitar playing roadie who played with LAM for 2 concerts in 1992, Jeremy Meza. (Sean also got Jeremy a job at his place of employment, along with several of Jeremy's friends an family members). After Ron discovered this affair, he divorced Tara and moved away, leaving Ghastly/Nosferatu productions in the hands of Tara and her new boyfriend Jeremy.
In 1992, after only 2 concerts with LAM, Jeremy Meza (now the co-editor of Ghastly magazine) was replaced in the live line up of LAM (Jeremy was never considered a member of the band, nor did he contribute anything to the band- he simply played 2 concerts and was a roadie for LAM's ex-drummer for a short while. During his two performances with LAM Jeremy fell off the stage at one concert and dropped his guitar in the middle of a song during another concert- all caught on video!). In early 1993, Jeremy and Tara Bai (editor of Ghastly), angered over Jeremy not being accepted by LAM, printed a readers poll in Ghastly where they asked if Jeremy should be given credit for playing on the recordings of LAM's "Selected Scenes from the End of the World". In reality, Jeremy did NOT play on the final recordings. They printed this question as an attempt to get attention and to take credit for things which they did not do in order to establish credibility for themselves, as their business (Ghastly magazine/Nosferatu Productions) was failing and nearing bankruptcy without the direction and leadership of Ron Hexe. They also did this out of bitterness, as Jeremy wanted to be a member of LAM but his lack of skill as a guitarist, lack of maturity, and lack of and professionalism led us to the decision to look elsewhere for a guitarist who was willing to work with the band on a professional level, who would stay away from drugs, and who wasn't so easily manipulated by his girlfriend like Jeremy was.
At the same time, Jeremy's high school age friends, Praise of Folly (a band that has since broken up), were being taken to court for their unprovoked death threats towards Sean Brennan and phone harassment of LAM (via LAM's public voice mail number). Praise of Folly called LAM's phone line with death threats and harassment for 1 & 1/2 years, up to 5 nights a week, up to 10 times per night, until they were caught by police and the phone company (the prosecution of POF took so long because the phone company had to set a "trap" or "trace" on the number, and since it was a voice mail number that a computer answered rather than a real phone line, it was very difficult to establish the case within the legal parameters set by the courts). All of this is documented in Hollywood and Beverly Hills Police Department records and there are at least 10 hours of their phone calls on tape.
So- In 1993, in the first issue of the LAM newsletter, the Gashlycrumb, LAM and staff responded to the false statements in the Ghastly magazine readers poll and wrote about the Praise of Folly phone incident (in hopes that this exposure, along with the pending police action against them, would help curb Praise of Folly's continuing obsessive phone calls to LAM). In the Gashlycrumb, LAM made it clear that Sean played all the guitar on "Selected Scenes..." and did not understand why Ghastly had lied in their readers poll. LAM also publicly asked Praise of Folly to grow up and stop spending their time on drugs making prank phone calls to LAM.
A few months later Ghastly and Praise of Folly, along with William Faith (of Faith and the Muse), and members of Praise of Folly retaliated with even MORE lies and slander with a fiction filled 8 page magazine published under the Ghastly magazine banner. It contained nothing but lies and slander against Sean Brennan and LAM. The lies ranged from theft to rape, and more. They did this to promote themselves and try to undermine LAM's success and strong following. They also acted out of bitterness because with LAM's response to Ghastly's misleading reader's poll, LAM was showing Ghastly to have lied- something the massive egos at Ghastly could not stand- they were overheard many times saying they were out to be "THE power in the Goth scene", and would "ruin whoever (they) didn't like". They also sent a letter, still in LAM's possession, that threatens that they would create more lies should LAM respond to this attack.
Ghastly and their friends (including William Faith) printed and distributed thousands upon thousands of this 8 page newsletter (called the Ghastly crumb) which contained page after page of the above mentioned hideous lies about Sean Brennan and LAM, distributed them at LAM concerts (LAM has video of them doing this, including shots of William Faith), handed them out at clubs, and mailed them around the world. In more recent history, to this day they spread outrageous rumors and lies about Sean and LAM in the goth and deathrock clubs they frequent and to anyone they meet- even spreading these lies outside of the USA to other bands, promoters, DJs, etc.
And the obvious question- Why? Aside from Jeremy's pretty jealousy and damaged ego (due to his own irresponsible behavior), we can't understand why they are so obsessed and continue on with their hate campaign after all these years. LAM has a recording of a phone conversation where Jeremy admits that he lied about LAM and Sean to "fuck with (Sean)", due to Jeremy's bitterness at not being accepted as guitar player and due to his girlfriend's bitterness towards LAM (see "reasons" below). Pathetic, isn't it? These people now frequent the club Release the Bats, Ghoul School and other bad goth/deathrock clubs in the Los Angeles area. It's a very small incestuous crowd, all of whom spread the same lies about people they envy, use people over and over and are generally dishonest. Below is the essentially unedited article originally written as a response to Ghastly's first attack on LAM in 1993 for the LAM newsletter. This was a rough draft. This version of LAM's response was never published until now. Instead a short laughing off of their harassment was published in the LAM newsletter. Read on...
A slanderer's only source of power comes from the fool who will believe accusations without proof.
A Response to Ghastly's False Accusations.
by Sean Brennan (written in 1993 for issue 2 of the Gashlycrumb)
I know that any public figure almost invites a certain amount of instability in their lives simply by being in the public eye, but I also know that no one should have to tolerate continual abuse and lies. So with that in mind, please bear with me while I set the record straight once and for all.
In April, 1993, Ghastly magazine/ Nosferatu Productions in association with Faith and the Muse, and members of a now defunct band Praise of Folly, wrote and distributed an 8 page newsletter called the "Ghastly Crumb" (which was a take off on the LAM newsletter, the Gashlycrumb). Ghastly magazine's "Ghastly Crumb" was an absurd pack of lies and slander below the level of the National Enquirer or Weekly World News. Lies so absurd they were meant only to get attention, to increase Ghastly's sagging sales and draw attention to Praise of Folly and Faith's bands. The lies ranged from the absurd, like I date 12 year old girls and rape them (?!) and steal their money, to things like I don't write any of my own music, to we never once filled any of our mail orders from fans. There were SO many other absurd lies, but you get the picture. The lies angered and disgusted me.
They printed thousands of copies of this mini- magazine and handed them out at our concerts (withOUT our or the club's permission), many other clubs and sent them to people through the mail throughout 1993 and 1994. They also sent them to magazines and bands around the world in an effort to blacken our name so no one would want to cover LAM in their magazines (which didn't work by the way).
A point I'd like you to consider is that they attacked me in PRINT, an 8 page magazine ranting and raving with lies about my personal & professional life. My concern is that people tend to think that it must be true if someone went to the trouble of writing it. I'm sure all of you can see why this point concerns me. With the printing of the Ghastly Crumb, Ghastly has taken irresponsibly and egotism to new heights. And why? Just to draw attention to themselves- as attested to by our then drummer Douglas Avery, who is engaged to Jeremy Meza's sister. An inside witness to their reasons and actions in this matter; Ghastly published this attack on LAM and me, a fairly well known band, in order to draw attention to their business, Nosferatu Productions. As sales had dropped dramatically for them, this was a way they thought would draw attention to themselves and make them a "power" in the scene (they even threatened that if I ever denied their lies they would use Ghastly to destroy LAM and me). Also as Jeremy was replaced in the live lineup of LAM after only 2 concerts and not allowed to become a member of the band, he was very bitter towards us.
This whole situation has been very traumatic for me and I feel, as I'm sure any one of you would, the need to set the record straight. Ghastly has shown they have no concern for my privacy, or REALITY for that matter, and I feel I am well within my rights to respond to their attack even though they have threatened to spread more lies about me if I do defend myself (this threat is in the form of a recorded phone conversation with Jeremy and a letter from Ghastly). I will not resort however to Nazi-like propaganda tactics, lies, threats of death, and childish behavior as Ghastly and associates have demonstrated. I rely upon the truth.
NOT ONE of the statements made in Ghastly's the "Ghastly Crumb" was true. And if you are skeptical then understand this, we have PROOF that EVERY SINGLE THING stated in Ghastly's the "Ghastly Crumb" was false. From copyright papers proving that I wrote every one of the songs accredited to my name, police reports of POF's harassment (which Ghastly denied), records of our filled mail orders, to eyewitness accounts of events and tape recorded conversations with Ghastly's Jeremy Meza where he ADMITS he lied in order to get attention and take revenge! Just ask us and WE WILL PROVE IT.
When confronted in person both Tara Bai (former Ghastly editor and now ex-girlfriend of Jeremy) and Jeremy (editor of Ghastly) admitted that everything they printed in the "Ghastly Crumb" was not true, or hearsay, and Tara said she printed the lies because she had heard that I had been "talking shit" about her. Of course I hadn't been. They admitted to mis-quoting me on purpose and fabricating events to try and make me look bad. In a conversation over the phone, which I recorded, Jeremy ADMITS that everything they printed was a lie, and they did it to "get my attention and fuck with me (snicker)". Yet they refused to print a retraction or explain to the public why they acted so immaturely.
They have since gone into hiding (NOTE: as of mid-1997, Ghastly has resurfaced with little success and Jeremy performs with bands like Element, Faith and the Muse and others while Tara Bai broke up with Jeremy, started dating a woman, moved to Hawaii, abandoning Ghastly, where she entered a rehab program after becoming addicted to speed and heroine. In 1999 she was reportedly arrested for possessing and using heroin. With Tara leaving Jeremy, Ghastly magazine, started by Ron Hexe, was now in the hands of Jeremy Meza).
Why would they act so unprofessionally you ask? I DON'T KNOW! Maybe it's because, after only two shows as our guitarist, after which he was replaced for lack of commitment and talent, Jeremy held some kind of grudge against us? Maybe there were other reasons; two of Tara's closest friends came to me after this ordeal and told me Tara was in love with me, had been for one year, and she was angered that I wasn't interested in her. This was a very unappealing prospect to me, but I don't have any idea what is true regarding their motivations, I just think they are sick people.
It's a pity they seem obsessed and feel they must mislead the public about my personal and professional life. People tell me I should be flattered in a weird way that Ghastly invested so much time, energy and IMAGINATION on me. It seems the people at Ghastly think that lying and being terminally negative are the "Goth" thing to do.
I have tried very hard to resolve this situation in private but have been met with attitude and abuse every step of the way by Ghastly, Faith and the Muse, etc. I asked them to print a retraction to their lies then I would let the situation drop. But as I said, they are still trying to cause trouble for me. Seeing no civil solution to the problem I consulted our lawyers who, upon seeing a copy of Ghastly's vicious and absurd "Ghastly Crumb", said we have a VERY strong slander case against Ghastly. In an effort to avoid a lawsuit I even asked Ghastly to come to our studio, bring all the people mentioned in the "Ghastly Crumb" and we would bring our proof that Ghastly's accusations were false. We would video tape the WHOLE meeting so that any outsider could watch the video and see who was telling the truth. Ghastly and Company declined. Gee... I wonder why? Maybe because they just wanted to do some damage to my reputation when they knew they had to lie to do that damage. (NOTE: at the time, early 1993, I did not have the $4000.00 retainer required to file the slander lawsuit against Ghastly. If it happened now however, they'd be toast).
Judging by the hundreds of letters and calls of support we've received it seems all of you who received Ghastly's the "Ghastly Crumb", had it mailed to you (as I shared LAM's mailing list with Ghastly when they first arrived in LA in order to get them started), or had it given to you by William Faith or Ghastly, saw it for what it was; an embarrassing attempt to get attention. We are not out to hurt people or mislead people. We are here to make music but if some one continually publicly accuses me of something of which I am innocent, I'm sure as hell not going to roll over and take it. I AM going to defend myself. I do not consider myself any better than anyone else. If I am guilty of something I will admit to it, I am an adult after all, but I am NOT guilty of anything Ghastly has accused me of. All I know is at least I have my honor, honesty, morals, professionalism and integrity intact and I'm very proud of that fact. We apologize to everyone out there for having to put up with this drama.
If any of you saw Ghastly's "Ghastly crumb" then you have been witness to one of the biggest frauds and malicious slander campaigns ever seen in the Goth scene. Think about it- have any of you ever seen a situation like this in the goth scene, something so similar to supermarket tabloids? A magazine attacking someone with awful lies, like rape, theft, etc? Remind you of the National Enquirer or Weekly World News? What will Ghastly say next? That I shot JFK? Or that I dated Elvis, or was molested by Michael Jackson? That sounds like something Ghastly would say. Seriously though, it reminds me of the paranoid ravings of McCarthy-ism or Nazi intimidation tactics; Ghastly magazine sent me letters and left phone messages DEMANDING that I do not stand up for myself or respond to them in any way, or else they would "ruin me". They think they are the Gothic Mafia who feel they have the right to lie and destroy people's lives for their own gain. A power so full of itself that it thinks that it has to answer to no one. (NOTE: Judging by Ghastly and associates bad Karma of late, I guess they DID have to answer for what they did. Jeremy became an unemployable drug addicted loser living in his parents' garage and Tara is a criminal drug addict. Their friends aren't much better off).
Ghastly magazine's ego is so over-inflated that they feel they have the right to make up lies about innocent people like me and not have to answer to them and then threaten to spread more lies if I do defend myself and tell the truth. I think that they have to answer to me - and to you. I'm sure you don't like being lied to, as I don't like being lied about. Remember you control the scene. You support the magazines and bands. Let your voice be heard and stand up for what is right. Remember it may be you they attack next time. Don't let the Fascist mentality of these assholes mislead you and in the process manipulate and destroy the music scene that, in reality, YOU control.