Asking Alexandria’s Ben Bruce has paid $500 out of his own pocket to a fan who claims he was swindled by former frontman Denis Stoff.
Belgian solo artist Maxime Solemn says he’d paid $500 as a down payment for a guest vocal spot from Stoff in late 2014 – who was then fronting his previous band Down & Dirty – after the singer told him it would cost $800.
When Asking Alexandria recruited Stoff last year, the vocalist reportedly told Solemn there would be no guest spot – but he never refunded the payment.
In an interview with Brian Storm, Solemn says he hounded Stoff and Asking Alexandria’s label Sumerian Records with emails and didn’t receive a response. He then added the frontman on Facebook, who told him that he’d changed his email address and would pay him back after tour.
Solemn says: “From time to time he would contact me again on Facebook and say ‘Yeah, it’s coming, I’ll take care of it, I’ll take care of it.’ One time he asked me Western Union information so he could pay me but nothing happened.”
After Stoff left Asking Alexandria under a cloud last month, Solemn came out publicly about the unpaid debt to warn others not to make the same mistake. Now he reveals guitarist Bruce got in touch with him over Twitter after hearing the story to reimburse him – despite that the deal took place before Stoff was in the band.
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He says: “I got the email of $500 in my Paypal. I really don’t have words right now. It’s insane.
“I was legitimately fangirling. I lost my cool on Twitter – we were private messaging and I was like ‘What, this is happening?’ I said I would check Asking Alexandria out in Belgium again this February and Bruce said, ‘Yeah, we can have a drink’ and I was like, ‘What!?‘”
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Last month, as Bruce announced the return of Danny Worsnop to Asking Alexandria, he admitted they’d been warned over “different things about Denis’ past” – but said they’d wanted to offer him the “benefit of the doubt.”
Asking Alexandria are currently touring North America.
Asking Alexandria 10 Years In The Black tour dates 2016
Nov 06: Montreal Metropolis, QB
Nov 07: Toronto Phoenix, Ontario
Nov 09: Buffalo Town Ballroom, NY
Nov 10: Philadelphia Electric Factory, PA
Nov 11: Portland State Theatre, ME
Nov 12: Worcester Palladium, ME
Nov 14: New York Webster Hall, NY
Nov 15: Clifton Park Upstate Concert Hall, NY
Nov 16: Baltimore Ram’s Head Live, MD
Nov 18: Norfolk NorVa Theatre, VA
Nov 19: Charlotte Amos Southend, NC
Nov 20: Orlando Plaza Live, FL
Nov 21: Ft Lauderdale Revolution Live, FL
Nov 23: Tampa Ritz, FL
Nov 25: Houston Warehouse Live, TX
Nov 26: Corpus Christi Concrete Street Amphitheater, TX
Nov 27: Dallas Bomb Factory, TX
Nov 28: Lubbock Lone Star Pavilion, TX
Nov 29: Albuquerque El Rey Theater, NM
Dec 01: Las Vegas Brooklyn Bowl, NV
Dec 02: San Diego SOMA, CA
Dec 03: Los Angeles Wiltern, CA
Dec 04: San Francisco Regency Ballroom, CA
Dec 06: Scottsdale Livewire, AZ
