TRIXTER drummer Mark “Gus” Scott has defended himself against harsh comments made by his bandmates, insisting that he is only “concerned” about what is best for the TRIXTER brand.
Both TRIXTER guitarist Steve Brown and bassist P.J. Farley have been critical of Scott in recent interviews, with Steve saying that the drummer is on “the shit list beyond belief” with the rest of the group, while P.J. comared being in a band with Mark to owning a disobedient dog. “Sometimes you let the dog off a leash and he just goes running to the middle of the street — no good,” he said.
Asked by Totally Driven Radio to respond to his bandmates’ remarks, Scott said (see video below): “I don’t know if the ‘bad dog’ is the best analogy and the best manner in which to visualize what’s happened with TRIXTER.
“One thing I can tell you is that any conflict within the band wasn’t something that just happened on one day. It was not triggered by one event that happened on this day, and a dog ran out in the middle of the street and got hit by a car or whatever, caused an accident. No. That certainly is not the case.
“I think there’s been different ideologies within the band for a very, very long time,” he continued. “We’ve been together over 30 years. So I think there’s always been — I don’t wanna say a ‘rift,’ but more recently, if there was a rift, it was certainly becoming more and more exponentially grown.
“I was always the typical kind of person that was backseat as far as responsibility. I didn’t wanna be the guy in the business meeting — I wanted to be the guy on the drum stool, kicking ass, having fun. I did not have a passion for that leadership — I really did not. That being said, I think what I learned over time was that I certainly had no tolerance for someone that was inept and did not offer that true… I could not be led by ignorance. I needed a bona fide leader. So when I saw flags going up of leadership being questioned, the direction, that wasn’t directed towards me but for the whole band. I think that needs to be clear. When I say leadership, not just someone telling me what to do or whatever — that was immaterial — I was concerned that the steps that were being taken hurt the brand, hurt the band. And when I say the band, that means all four members. What it’s an injustice for is all of us. That’s what wakes me up; that’s what gets my attention and motivates me to say, ‘Wait a frickin’ minute.’ And I think the American people are also something very similar, particularly with the election that we have [coming up], the president that we have.
“I think part of the phenomenon of what’s going on in our political climate today is that not everybody knows everything about politics, but they know when they’re getting screwed. And they truly believe that they need someone to be on their best front. And I think some people believe very strongly that the person in office today is the man who’s got their back, that’s gonna be able to lead them through this crap and not get screwed and not lead you down a path of America that we don’t wanna be. Now, maybe I’m getting a bit taken away, but I think you understand the point I’m trying to make.”
Scott added: “Whether it’s business, whether it’s life, I think we all have core elements that resonate with us that when I see things being done in a way that can be detrimental — not just to me, but to everyone — that, I truly believe, is unacceptable, particularly in something that I’m so passionate about, like TRIXTER, like rock and roll, like playing. I truly believe you have to do things in a certain fashion to [achieve] a certain result.
“Everybody has different ways of operating, and that’s fine, but if the manner in which you operate results in a reduced capability of your brand and diminishing what you’ve worked so hard to build, that is in everybody’s best interest not to be a part of.
“I’m trying to choose my words somewhat carefully, ’cause I don’t wanna misrepresent the situation,” he said. “Hey, look, I’ve not been a perfect angel — I’ll admit that — but let me tell you something, pal: it takes a real fucking cocksucker to wake me up to even give a shit. So when certain people make certain moves when they don’t care in the fashion that they should, when we’re playing three shows a year in, let’s say, the past… We put [the band] back together in 2008, through [2017], I think, was our last show — about 10 years. We played an average of 16 shows a year in a year that has 52 weekends… And the idea that we had so much opportunity, and to squander it, and you elect to do something else. Everybody has the right to do whatever they want. But to not even talk about it? To not even discuss the idea, or formulate some kind of plan to do something? That’s hurting your brothers — to not even tell ’em what you’re gonna be doing.”
Five months ago, Scott told Totally Driven Radio that “it doesn’t look good” that TRIXTER will perform again any time soon. “It’s been about two and a half years since we’ve done anything together, and that is not by my choice, that’s for sure,” he said. “It’s a very sad set of circumstances. I love TRIXTER more than anything in the world — I really do — and if someone said, ‘Hey, we have an opportunity to do this tomorrow,’ I’d be, like, ‘Well, there we go. I’m in.’ And, unfortunately, not everybody shares the same sentiment.”
Since reuniting, TRIXTER has released two studio albums via Frontiers Music Srl — 2012’s “New Audio Machine” and 2015’s “Human Era”.
Scott celebrated the 30th anniversary of TRIXTER‘s biggest MTV hit, “Give It To Me Good”, by releasing a solo version of the song in May.
TRIXTER toured extensively in the United States, Canada and Japan in support of its five major label releases. They have performed live in arenas and amphitheaters with crowds up to 35,000 people, appearing with such rock superstars as KISS, SCORPIONS, POISON, TED NUGENT, NIGHT RANGER, CINDERELLA, TWISTED SISTER, DOKKEN, WARRANT, GREAT WHITE and FIREHOUSE.
