Having recently been fired from Flaw after being found to have plagiarized a number of songs from YouTube, the band’s former guitarist/bassist Tommy Gibbons has announced he is also stepping away from music. If you missed it a few weeks ago, several songs attributed to Gibbons featured on Flaw‘s latest album “Vol IV Because Of The Brave” were found to have been directly lifted instrumentally from YouTubers and other musicians.
While one was shown to have been properly licensed ahead of time, at least two of the included tracks were confirmed to have been plagiarized. In a statement he issued following the controversy, Gibbons blamed the copied works on a hazy memory. He alleged that he had routinely re-recorded songs he heard on YouTube over the years in a bid to challenge himself to become a better musician.
He went on to state that when he submitted these recordings to the band for use on their new album, he was unsure of which songs he had wrote himself. In a new statement shared this past Tuesday, October 15th, Gibbons has since revealed his plans to leave music behind:
“Hey guys it’s been awhile and I’m just gonna get right to the point. I’ve decided to completely step away from music. I have no regrets and I’ve had an amazing and I mean amazing time!
Now it’s time for the next chapter of my life. Gonna focus on my son, enjoy the Holidays with my family and maybe even try to dabble in the family business. Who knows?
That’s the best part of life. Sometimes you just need to press restart. To all those who truly supported me I say thank you and I love you all.”
A day prior to Gibbons‘ statement, Flaw frontman Christopher Volz issued a statement of his own, revealing that the band would be postponing/rescheduling their remaining 2019 dates. Instead the band will focus on finding a replacement for Gibbons as well as second guitarist and will also continue to work on a new album.
Volz said of that:
“Hey Flaw Family, just wanted to give everyone a heads up about our recent progress and plans for the future. We had 5 concerts left to perform this year that we are postponing and re-scheduling for next year-2020 (all pre-sale tix will be honored)….
We are taking the rest of the year off to get the crew back to where it should be and finish a new album. We feel that focusing on finding a solid bass player and re-adding a 2nd guitarist is at the top of our priority list right now. We have received dozens of video auditions for the open bass position but are still accepting submissions for both bass and 2nd guitar (email videos to: [email protected]).
We have also been working on some amazing brand new material and hope to have another album ready to go in the 1st quarter of next year! Sending much love and respect to you all and hope you have an amazing Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with your families! You better believe we’re coming back stronger than ever! See you all early next year!
OTSS!!! 🤘😎🤘”
Comments