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  Neurotica Leave WWE�s SmackDown Records. 


09-17-02 antiGUY
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The final Ozzfest tour diary entry from Neurotica�s Kelly Shaefer was chalked full of news. Aside from the Motley Crue story where Nikki Sixx hopes that the Crue�s farewell tour can be Ozzfest 2003(see story), Kelly dropped the bomb about the future of his band. It appears that all the high hopes for the WWE�s label, SmackDown Records, were not realized and the new label was unable to effective operate. So as a result Neurotica has left the label, just a few months after their SmackDown self-titled debut hit stores.  

Here is what Kelly had to say about Neurotica and Smackdown records in his tour diary, �We are no longer on Smackdown Records. We must keep our momentum going coming off this tour .We have sold a lot of records being out here, so it should be appealing to another label to pick us up for their roster. We hope our manager and lawyer can make it happen, so we can get back out on tour son after this. Smackdown was cool to let us go. They were not going to be able to do the day-to-day s**** required to be a rock label, so by letting us go, it gives us a chance to keep rolling with all of the good things that are currently going on with NEUROTICA. Our video is done, we got a lot of gas in our tank, so to speak, so we hope to have that hooked up sooooon!"

SmackDown�s distribution was handled by Koch International which last week laid off Pete Giandalia, the head of their new media department. In an email announcing that he had left the label, Giandalia told journalists, �After 4 great years at KOCH Entertainment, Koch has decided to move in another direction and eliminate my position.�  Although he had lost his job Giandalia left things on a positive note, �The past 4 years were the best working years of my life. I hold no ill feelings.�

We are unsure if the changes at Koch had anything to do with the changes at SmackDown or if the timing was a strange coincidence. 

Neurotica�s debut album, �Seed,� produced by Brian Johnson of AC/DC suffered a similar fate as the distributor for the band�s original indie label, went out of business shortly after the album hit the stores. 

We will keep you Posted on developments with Neurotica. 

Read the entire final installment of the Neurotica Ozzfest Tour Diary. 

more on Neurotica





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