As We See It

As You See It: Readers chime in on the great Ronnie Radke debate (and some other stuff)

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The great Ronnie Radke debate

Every time we write about ex-Escape the Fate frontman Ronnie Radke, a flood of comments follows, extolling his genius and condemning him as a talentless murderer. He is a polarizing figure in a way few others seem to be. So, when we made the decision to put him on the cover of our 2011 Music Issue (“To hell and back”), we were prepared for the usual barrage of anger, support and frustration. What we didn’t realize was that our issue had debuted the day before the five-year anniversary of Michael Cook’s death. The timing was both appropriate and unfortunate, and the online conversation that followed ranged from thoughtful to crass, with stops along the way in joy, pain and confusion. Here is a sampling from the comments posted on lasvegasweekly.com and Las Vegas Weekly’s Facebook page.

I’m happy to see how candid you were. Good for you. You’re honesty is why you have such loyal fans. —Babytee Justino

You can feel the intensity and emotion when Ronnie talks about his album. —Rick Rosa

This is why I have so much respect for Ronnie. He’s been through a lot and actually learned from his mistakes. I’m really excited that he’s sober and even more excited about the album. It’ll melt faces, I’m sure. —Kayla McCracken

Ronnie is the biggest waste of life I have ever seen. Aside from being responsible for the death of a great person, Michael Cook, he is a douche-bag and a narcissist. Since high school he has been an inconsiderate drug addict and loser. I hope High Desert made him their bitch. Las Vegas Weekly, I have been a long time reader and supporter until I saw this interview. You have no idea how much pain and disgust you have created in giving this wimp the limelight. —Chris Foster

Chris Foster, people make mistakes, man. I’m not justifying that what he did constitutes forgiveness from you or anyone with Michael Cook. He obviously didn’t have a clear mind at the time and everyone slips from time to time. He served his prison sentence; you can’t pin this on him anymore. —Anthony Hernandez

Wow, lucky high school punk. Disguises lack of talent with bad makeup and cartoon tattoos and his near-nondescript band moves on without him ’cause he was busy playing prison-bitch. Workin’ up the tears. Tell this clown no one cares. If he wants to make his musical mark, try practice and talent. While he was away glam rock died ... well, maybe not for his audience. —Scott Nellis

Even guys like this one here deserve a second chance, even with their crappy band. —Mark Applewhite

Faux de deux

The fake breast/lawn musing continues.

Fake breasts are a lot like fake lawns: It’s not the size of the yard that matters. It’s whether you get to play. —Andy Martello

Does it really matter? If someone prefers fake ones because they feel they’re more aesthetically pleasing, then who are we to judge. You have the option of not getting them yourself. —Juan Enrique

One is easier on the knees! —Teresa Ables

Get your tickets here!

You’ve likely seen them standing outside concert venues looking forlorn and more than a little pissed—fans who’ve bought tickets from a scalper only to show up and find their bar codes have already been used by someone else. Last week, April Corbin took a look at the issue of ticket scalping and the measures some venues are taking to stop it.

Box offices do nothing to combat scalpers. If they did, shows wouldn’t sell out in minutes and 10 minutes later show up on StubHub, eBay or any other ticket broker. —Ted Peterson

Your article fails to mention the biggest scalpers with the best access to the best tickets are the artists and promoters who sell tickets on StubHub and other “secondary ticket” outlets. —Jet West

Tweeting the love

Three appreciations from local readers. Tweet us and we’ll tweet you back!

@takianballard: Thank Jeebus! The Smith’s by my house finally has some @lasvegasweekly issues! It’s about time!

@Ricardo_Laguna: @lasvegasweekly @hotvegas @hardrockcafe even though i had a bum heel, it was worth the pain lol, i had an awesome time

@beccaisinspired: Thank you @lasvegasweekly mag for giving me something entertaining to read on my ride home!

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