Bad Wolves guitarist AJ Rebollo, who first joined the group as a touring guitarist in 2023, has just quit the band, citing the upcoming release of a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” as the breaking point.
Yesterday (Aug. 28), a press release was issued, announcing that the cover of the late country star’s classic 1974 hit would be officially released on Monday (Aug. 31). It was also noted that the cover song has been in the works for a while and that Parton herself was planning on contributing vocals to the track.
Rebollo said he “can no longer in good faith remain a member and co-sign the decisions constantly being made FOR this band by the label, among other issues I have with the inner workings of the business.”
He calls the “label’s decision to move forward” with the “Jolene” cover after the band “blatantly expressed our opposition” as the “final nail in the coffin” for his tenure in Bad Wolves.
READ MORE: Rockers Share Moving Tributes Celebrating Dolly Parton
The guitarist goes on to explain that Bad Wolves collectively did not want to move ahead with the cover now that Parton’s death meant that the collaboration was “no longer a possibility.” There were also concerns that the release of the cover would be misconstrued as the band aiming to capitalize off the global icon’s death.
Rebollo adds, “The amount of hate, negativity, and harassment we receive on a daily basis due to decisions made outside of our control has taken a massive toll on our sanity” and he is no longer happy being in the band as a result. He also contrasts the dynamic of Bad Wolves’ inner working with his time in metalcore group Issues and still expresses gratitude toward the label and Bad Wolves founder John Boecklin for helping him “sustain a living” while off tour.
Read the entire statement below.
This will be a long one, so if you don’t want to stay for the whole thing, the main point is – I am making the decision to step away as a member of Bad Wolves. In short, I can no longer in good faith remain a member and co-sign the decisions constantly being made FOR this band by the label, among other issues I have with the inner workings of the business.
When I stepped into the picture, a part of me knew what I was getting into, but the full extent of it was unknown to me. I have been at odds with one too many decisions being made for the band for quite some time, but the final nail in the coffin was the label’s decision to move forward with the upcoming Dolly Parton cover, after we blatantly expressed our opposition. We, as an entity, told the label we had no interest in releasing the cover after learning of Dolly’s unfortunate passing as her collaboration on the song was no longer a possibility, and we felt it would (understandably) be interpreted as somewhat of a capitalization on her passing from an outside perspective. They went ahead and posted that we were releasing it anyway, despite efforts from more than one member, myself included, to oppose it.
With the label completely disregarding numerous decisions we make out of passion, and ultimately just unknowingly exhausting the band’s attempts to fully enjoy being here, I am no longer happy here. The amount of hate, negativity, and harassment we receive on a daily basis due to decisions made outside of our control has taken a massive toll on our sanity.
Coming from Issues made me appreciate the autonomy we had as a band. We were fortunate enough to have worked with a label that cared for us, not only as musicians, but as people. They trusted our vision, never pushed anything on us that we didn’t want to do for ourselves, and ultimately felt like team members, not bosses. That’s been a dynamic that I have strived for within Bad Wolves for quite some time. There are some undeniably incredible people at Better Noise, but I will not stand by as yet another decision is being made for us that we are entirely opposed to, one that we – as the faces of this band – will receive the brunt of the scrutiny and ridicule for.
While the donation to her Imagination Library is an incredible choice to do something good with the profits, I can’t help but feel there is ill intent behind the decision to release the song.
I would like to acknowledge and thank the label and John specifically for helping me sustain a living as much as possible while being off the road. There was a level of care there that is definitely not lost on me, but I have never been one to allow my art and decisions within the music world to be compromised, and I have no interest in being a vessel for what I believe to be terrible decisions.
Music is my job, my livelihood, and most importantly, my passion. Stepping away from this is absolutely terrifying as I am sacrificing what little I have left when it comes to stability within the music world. I do not know what the future holds for me regarding that.
This is not, by any means, some sort of call to arms against anyone, nor do I wish ill will on anyone involved in the label’s decision making. I absolutely loved the time I got to spend with the band. I love them all (the old and new members) as bandmates, people, and friends. I loved creating this upcoming album with them as I think it is a genuinely incredible piece of art, but this is a decision I just have to make.
About Bad Wolves’s Cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”
Yesterday (Aug. 28), drummer John Boecklin shed some light on the origins Bad Wolves’ upcoming cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”
“Our new singer is a big fan of Dolly and had posted a bunch of videos of her covering ‘Jolene.’ So, we decided to make a heavy metal cover version for our next album. On hearing our version, our label CEO Dan Waite sent the finished demo to Dolly’s manager Danny Nozell with a request for Dolly to guest feature on our version. We heard back that Danny had played the track to Dolly, and that Dolly loved our version, and that Dolly was going to go into the studio and add her vocals very soon,” he said. “We then sent over the stems for Dolly’s studio engineers to work with. Like everyone, we were devastated of this week’s news of Dolly’s passing.We will honor Dolly’s incredible legacy by donating proceeds from ‘Jolene’ to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.”
Boecklin continued, “With ‘Jolene,’ being able to use our platform to help deliver critical funding to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, we know that we can contribute to Dolly’s vision of giving access to books and improving literacy. Our thoughts are with Dolly’s extended family, manager Danny Nozell, and all of the many thousands of people she touched in her extraordinary life who are grieving her passing.”
Bad Wolves Dropped From Skillet Tour
Earlier this week, Bad Wolves singer Sara “Killboy” Skinner released a video statement explaining that the band is no longer taking part in Skillet’s upcoming tour. The statement was released in defiance of the wishes of Skillet’s team, revealing Skinner had been harassed by Skillet’s fanbase, who uncovered personal details about her after researching online.
“I’m not someone who’s ever hidden who the fuck I am, so let’s not leave you to speculate, okay?! Here’s the the truth. Skillet announced us on their tour and their fans had a field day doing very extensive research that their booking agents and management did not do. Upon their findings, I am a trans OnlyFans bitch. Now unfortunately, only one of those things is true. Have fun finding out and we will see you on the next tour,” Skinner said in the post which has since been deleted.
Skinner joined as Bad Wolves’ new singer in late June, making her debut on the song “Paint it Red.”
Autumn Kings have since signed on as Bad Wolves’ replacement on Skillet’s tour.
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