Lee McKinney, lead guitarist of the progressive metal act Born of Osiris, criticized a music venue on Wednesday (March 22) that the rocker said made a derogative T-shirt with their band name on it without permission. He included a photo of the shirt.
Pointing to the ignorance of the disparaging statement printed on it — "EDM Sucks" — McKinney quipped the venue must have missed Born of Osiris' electronic influence. The term EDM, short for electronic dance music, covers a broad spectrum of electronic music.
"Venue today printed this corny ass T-shirt without our permission," McKinney wrote on Twitter.
READ MORE: Architects Suggest Bands Should Strike Over 'Insane' Merch Cuts Taken by Music Venues
"They must not have noticed all of the edm inspired keyboard/synth work in our music," he said.
"Im hoping nobody buys these and they end up in the trash," the Born of Osiris guitarist added.
The T-shirt includes the names of the other bands that played the Born of Osiris gig — Within Destruction, Vulvodynia, Knosis and more. Born of Osiris are currently on tour with the aforementioned groups in Asia. They played the Hong Kong venue Music Zone at E-Max (KITEC) on Wednesday. (It was not made clear if this venue printed the merch.)
Band Merch + Music Venues
The Born of Osiris merch situation dovetails with the current discussion around the sales of band merchandise in music venues, especially now that artists are protesting venues' merch cuts.
Last month, Architects drummer Dan Searle tweeted, "Hey @bands when are we gonna go on strike and get rid of these insane venue merch cuts? Or maybe we don't play until we get a cut of the bar?"
Born of Osiris Updates
Born of Osiris' latest, Angel or Alien, came out in 2021. Watch the music video for the title track below. See the band's upcoming 2023 tour dates underneath.
Click here for a list of rock and metal bands touring in 2023. Sign up for Loudwire's newsletter and get the Loudwire app to stay up to date.
Born of Osiris, "Angel or Alien" (Music Video)
Born of Osiris Spring 2023 Tour Dates
March 18 – Bangkok, Thailand @ Lido Connect
March 19 – Jakarta, Indonesia @ Hammersonic
March 22 – Hong Kong, China @ Music Zone
March 24 – Manila, Philippines @ Wacken Battle
March 25 – Seoul, South Korea @ Alive Hall
March 26 – Taipei City, Tawain @ Legacy
March 29 – Tokyo, Japan @ Shibuya Garret
March 30 – Tokyo, Japan @ Shibuya Garret
April 1 – Bengaluru, India @ Bangalore Open Air
April 7 – Fort Worth, Texas @ Ridglea Theatre
April 8 – San Antonio, Texas @ Vibes Event Ctr
April 9 – Houston, Texas @ Warehouse
April 11 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Masquerade
April 13 – New York, N.Y. @ Palladium
April 14 – Sayerville, N.J. @ Starland Ballroom
April 15 – Hartford, Ct. @ Webster Theater
April 16 – Reading, Pa. @ Reverb
April 18 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Mountain View Amp.
April 19 – Cleveland, Ohio @ Agora Theatre
April 20 – Covington, Ky. @ Madison Theater
April 21 – Pontiac, Mich. @ The Crofoot
April 22 – Joliet, Ill. @ The Forge
April 24 – Denver, Colo. @ Ogden Theatre
April 26 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ House of Blues
April 27 – Mesa, Ariz. @ The Nile Theater
April 28 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Belasco
April 29 – Berkeley, Calif. @ UC Theatre
April 30 – Anaheim, Calif. @ House of Blues
