Turns out Stevie T. is not joining Dragonforce. Last month, when the band announced that longtime bassist Frédéric Leclercq was leaving, they noted that famed Youtuber Stevie T would be filling in.
Well, Dragonforce's tour started and fans noticed that Stevie was nowhere to be found. Stevie addressed the situation in a recent Youtube video, where he said he ultimately pulled out due to developing crippling anxiety about performing live with the band.
Here's a transcript of the relevant part via Ultimate Guitar:
“Honestly, when I’m in front of a camera is the only time when I feel like that, so that’s why playing a live show in front of all these people, being in a tour bus after I’ve never toured – I’ve never even toured before – my first tour ever is with a famous band on a headlining tour…
“That freaked me the hell out. As for DragonForce, what did they do after I bailed on them? They gave me a cameo in their new music video.”
“And I’ll admit, I watched DragonForce performing live on Twitch-con, wondering to myself what could have been because that could have been me on stage with them. Like, who knows what opportunity could have arisen by playing with DragonForce?
“I mean, at the end of the day, I’d rather be a YouTuber anyways, but still, this would have been quite the thing to put on a resume, like, playing with DragonForce. I half-expected DragonForce to hate me after bailing the on them like that; they rightfully could have been, but instead, they were, like, ‘Hey Stevie, we understand. We’ve dealt with our own anxieties before as well.’
“In fact, Herman Li even talked to me on the phone for over an hour, talking about his anxieties in the past as well. Anyone who looks up to Herman Li as a guitar god and just hopes that he’s the amazing person that he appears to be, I’m here to let you guys know that he is. He’s the most genuine dude you will ever know. I still picked up my deluxe package of their new album so, I mean, I’m still supporting the band, of course, and we’re all on great terms but DragonForce, you gotta come to the East Coast, man. We want you here, man.
“So that’s why I’m not sugarcoating this whole DragonForce thing. This is what happened; hopefully someday I can overcome this. Well, ain’t I a ray of sunshine today. [Laughs]”
Ultimately, I'm glad the band was understanding of Stevie's situation. View his full video below. Here is Dragonforce's current tour routing:
Oct. 7 – The Red Room – Vancouver, BC [Tickets]
Oct. 8 – El Corazon – Seattle, WA [Tickets]
Oct. 11 – August Hall – San Francisco, CA [Tickets]
Oct. 12 – Ventura Theater – Ventura, CA [Tickets]
Oct. 13 – Megacruise – Los Angeles, CA, USA *
[youtube=https://youtu.be/iGLmzGJD0Ns][/youtube]
