Sting and Vinx..what happened?

[coccamona]

Hello folks,
anybody know what happened to Sting and Vinx friendship?

[smax]

hmmm dunno, i remember seeing him as the opening act on the soul cages tour and being a little underwhelmed..... but while idly looking i found these two bits of information which i didn't know:

"Who is Vinx? Most people know him as…One man. One voice. One drum. As you will discover, Vinx is much more. Vinx’s music transcends languages and borders. This is evident from his international touring schedule and cult-like popularity. Vinx has taken the wisdom of his mother to heart. She often told him that "You can’t sing of life unless you live."

So… the journey starts in 1976, when Vinx attended Kansas State University on a track scholarship. In 1977, hate nearly took away Vinx’s athletic career and his life when racists burned down his house, along with the home of another black family living in his Kansas City suburb. Vinx was severely burnt by the fire. He overcame his injuries and three years later made the world’s second longest leap in the triple jump. This qualified Vinx for the 1980 Moscow Olympics. When President Jimmy Carter called for an Olympic boycott that year, Vinx’s athletic goals were put on hold. "



and

"
In 1994, Vinx moved to Boston and started the year with the Stewart Copeland and the Rhythmatists tour."

from here:
http://www.traumton.de/label/artists/?id=vinx&lang=en

my guess is that they're still chummy (whatever that means) but vinx appears to have started his own label and stuff so their business relatuionship may have come to an end..... and, as we know, gordo thinks ambition is more important than friendship....

[njperry]

Btw, Vinx has been doing some touring. He played in Washington DC last night but I wasn't able to go after the La Jolla trip. He plays Wednesday in Atlanta and then at his usual venue in McRae, Georgia.

http://vinx.com/index.php?page=calendar

[secretjourneyranch]

If I had to guess I would say somebody in the Sting camp finally wised up and realized Vinx was making Sting sound even more boring than he did before. You could not make Message or Every Breath sound any more like elevator music.

Somebody realized Vinx had to go, and fast.

[steveohno]

See link.....tells one side of the story, interesting. Not sure when it's from.
http://www.urbanmogulmagazine.com/vinx_ ... iv_15.html

[MariaH]

http://vinx.com/index.php?page=bio

you can find out most at his personal site but the simple version is that he was never paid for going on tour with Sting. There were years of waiting until it came to court but even though vinx got the winning verdict he has yet to be paid his earnings.
He doesnt really talk to Sting anymore but says he holds no animosity toward him.

[Divemistress of the Dark]

*thunk*

Wow. I'm not familliar with this guy, since my sole Sting solo show was in 1988, but stiffed on touring? That seems like a pretty major, er, party foul...

[smax]

ouch!

[secretjourneyranch]

Damn....I didn't know how close I was to the truth.
Like Milton in Office Space, they just stopped paying him!
He had to go...

[MariaH]

yea, well he wasnt let go until the tour was over and done for everyone but he never his money. That was back in the 80s when some promoters thought you could just be paid with food, transportation and some recreational shit but player need to be paid for their work.

[MariaH]

Heres more info:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss4gVyMB ... re=related

[Police Boy]

Just watched the You Tube clip. I'm trying hard not to be biased here, but why would Sting avoid paying Vinx $189k? That's pennies to Sting so it doesn't make any sense.

[steveohno]

Wait, didn't I post that link above? Oh yeah, I did..........MariaH - Soul Cages tour was 91/92 not in the 80's. If you watch the interview, Vinx says Sting owed him $189K but after 12 years he settled w/him for 75K.

[MariaH]

well regardless of the time period wouldnt you be a little pissed off if it took [b]12 yrs [/b]to get paid? and you only got that from going to court?

[steveohno]

Yeah, I hear what you're saying but it is only his (Vinx) side of the story. Who knows what arrangements (i.e. record contract/advance/royalties) were made when Sting/Miles signed him to their label. Maybe they felt Vinx owed them $114K, we'll never hear that side of the story though. Sting's track record with his chef make me think the scales tip to Vinx's side of the arguement though. Cheers...........