After footage of Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil using teleprompter on stage was uploaded online, members of the rock and metal communities have come to his defense. In particular, Disturbed’s David Draiman, Strypers’s Michael Sweet and Shinedown’s Zach Myers, who all responded to the news making headlines.
Recent fan-recorded video from a July 5 show in St. Louis, Missouri shows a small teleprompter located at the front of the stage with white text on a black background, illuminating the lyrics of each song. The device is meant to help with memorization and accessibility, especially for musicians who have lengthy catalogues like Neil who has dozens of records.
Draiman criticized media outlets’ handling of the news, commenting “All you parasitic vultures pretending to be journalists who broke the “big story” that Vince Neil/@MotleyCrue uses a teleprompter onstage should really find a new line of work. SO FUCKING WHAT? Most artists with extensive catalogs do. Leave the guy alone FFS.”
Meyers joined in, quoting Blabbermouth’s tweet adding: “Slow news day? Steven Tylers has been 15 of them onstage.” He later joked, tweeting: “Breaking News Guys: Def Leppard uses a SETLIST!!!”
Sweet responded to the news via Instagram, writing that he has also used a teleprompter in the past and echoing many of the same concerns Draiman addressed: “I hate to break it to you since this is “BIG” news but many artists our age (or close to it) use teleprompters of some sort. When you’ve got a huge catalog that dates back to the early eighties (and you’re getting a little older), it’s pretty much impossible to remember the lyrics to every song.”
Many other musicians came to Neil’s defense including Fozzy’s Rich Ward and Chris Jericho and Sevendust’s Clint Lowery. Fans were also quick to voice their support for the beloved vocalist and guitarist.
Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz
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