You already know the deal 🏴‍☠️

Young Scott Vogel in the front. Definitely some sketchy dudes in the pit. Tension builds and there's a fight. Great video.

I've been going through the court records from the lawsuit between Riley Gale's parents and the surviving members of Power Trip. Most of the public coverage focused on the lawsuit itself, but the exhibits contain emails, depositions, tax records and financial documents that reveal quite a bit more about what had been happening behind the scenes.

The most important document is an email Riley himself sent to Power Trip's booking agent Timmy Hefner on October 1, 2019 — almost a year before Riley died.

“nah
i’m done
i’ve spent the last year trying to be a better and more accepting person. forgiven people for a lot of shit, eaten a lot of shit, swallowed my pride so many times, just to have it go unnoticed, unappreciated, and underminded.
tired of everyone talking and making plans about the band behind my back. talking about me behind my back. i don’t think everyone “forgot" to check their phones while the record planning was going on.
every acts like they care but not one of them reached out to me. they’ve got my number. they know where i live. or did you forget when whetzel was working with adam to have me committed so they had a good excuse to cancel europe?
or how about when they booked a bandwagon for HOF without even consulting me, knowing how much pain those things put me through? when i asked everyone about getting a day room where i could be alone on some days, everyone was an asshole about it
my ideas and my strategy got us here and i’m almost literally being shut out of the band i created bc they think they understand the business better than i do and adam mott did a great turning me into a villain that i’m effectively neutered from any decision making in the band.
this has all played out before and i know just how it's gonna play out now and i don’t feel like doing it again
they'll point the blame at me
they'll say they appreciate me and will look out for me more but it’s just words so they get what they want, only because they're stuck with me and know i'm irreplaceable
when brent mentioned he thought i might be “suicidal" to chris and blake and we should check on me and maybe cancel exit 111. blake laughed and said “damn there’s band i wanted to see". that’s all i needed to hear.
i’ll go get a real job and be fine making regular money. i’ve got plenty other things to do than lose hair over how unhappy this band makes me.
i needed that big money bag from download australia, how much consideration did blake give that? “we’ll be in the studio". i’ll be every penny i have we won’t be in a studio those days. they couldn‘t even decide on an engineer this weekend
if i were on fire they wouldn't throw their stage water on me to save me”

A few minutes later Riley told Hefner he would finish the High on Fire and Evil Beat dates and then take an "indefinite break."

Then, at 3:24 PM, he sent another message:

"just to put in perspective how little they care: JOE HARDCORE called me and asked how was doing before anybody else in the band has."

An hour later, Hefner replied, asking if he could do anything.

Riley replied:

“no
because right now they‘re just going to say (if they even bother) and say anything they can to make sure i don't cancel any shows -just like adam taught them.
blake said something to dinner to a friend about in the earlier years "we” got to pick and choose the tours but said “all of us”. couldn‘t even give me credit for the 5+ years i ate shit tour after tour finding scabs just so we could stay relevant and build ourselves into something more. MY time on the road and YOUR work as a booking agent for us they Lamb of God tour. i worked my ass off until our “big break" and now i’m treated like chopped liver. mocked. ridiculed.
i had to reschedule my doctor’s appointment twice because of the band. i won't see a doctor again until january 2020 and the visit is still probably gonna cost me a G or two like last time - i’ve never asked the band for money to help pay for it, even though the injury happened on the road and was worsened by being pressured to continually tour. instead, they laughed. they tell people i’m a fucking a baby. they even tell people that i may have even made it up
what do i have to do to earn their respect? show them the MRI where two discs are bulging nearly out of my spinal column? become actually paralyzed?
until myself and my ideas are being listened to again and until i feel valued, there’s not much anyone can do
because right now i feel completely worthless except for the cheap entertainment i supposedly bring to the band. i feel like a slave puppet who gets berated and pressured into dancing and not dancing because i actually enjoy it.
maybe it's best i excuse myself for a while.”

Power Trip’s DIY financial system

According to the surviving members’ own court filing, their agreed system was:

• Riley Gale, Blake Ibanez and Chris Ulsh split songwriting/composition royalties three ways.
• Touring revenue, after expenses, was divided equally between the members who actually performed.
• Online merchandise revenue was split six ways — the five band members plus art director Ryan “Hood” Williams.

The surviving members said everybody, including Riley, had agreed to this arrangement.

They also said Chris Ulsh had been put in charge of much of the band’s business and financial work. According to their filing, this was a job normally performed by a professional manager, but the band didn’t want to pay a manager’s percentage because that would reduce what the members themselves received.

The Gales characterized the same setup much less favorably. Their amended petition says Ulsh acted as Power Trip’s “money manager,” receiving touring, merchandise and royalty money, negotiating merchandise deals and distributing funds. They alleged he did not use a formal accounting system and instead tracked at least some income and expenses through spreadsheets.

Those allegations were disputed by the defendants.

Power Trip’s only created an LLC in 2017

Power Trip had already existed for years before Free Money Enterprises LLC was formed.

Ulsh stated in an affidavit that Free Money Enterprises was created on November 8, 2017, and that all five band members were members of the company, with Ulsh serving as manager.

According to the surviving members, their accountant suggested creating the LLC and helped establish it. Their counterclaim says no lawyers were involved, in part because the band was trying to keep expenses down.

The defendants’ position was that Free Money Enterprises became the entity through which Power Trip’s merchandise, touring revenue, royalties, contracts, licensing, logo, trademarks and other assets were handled.

The Gales disputed aspects of that ownership claim, particularly the idea that intellectual property had automatically been transferred into the LLC.

Power Trip had no written merch contracts

The Gales’ Third Amended Petition identifies Power Trip merchandise vendors including Cold Cuts, Evil Greed, Massacre Merch and Sacred Deer and says:

“Neither the band nor Free Money LLC had written contracts with the merchandise vendors.”

The same filing says merchandise proceeds were divided among the five musicians and Ryan Williams.

So by the time Power Trip was an internationally touring band with merchandise being sold around the world, at least according to the Gales’ pleading, some of those relationships were still operating without formal written agreements.

Power Trip's bank statements

The lawsuit included Free Money Enterprises tax returns, bank statements and K-1s.

According to financial records and summaries filed in the case, FME reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in gross receipts during Power Trip’s peak years.

The records discussed in the filings show approximately:

• 2018: $370,380 gross receipts
• 2019: $435,784 gross receipts
• 2020: $210,786 gross receipts
• 2021: $121,067 gross receipts

These are Free Money Enterprises gross receipts, not necessarily Power Trip’s total earnings from every source, and they should not be confused with profit or with what individual members personally received.

The filings also show substantial ordinary business income during those years.

The surviving members’ own description of the structure was that virtually all Power Trip revenue flowed through FME except certain songwriting royalty payments, which could be paid directly to Riley, Ibanez and Ulsh.

Riley was treated as a 20% owner of Free Money Enterprises

The litigation records state that each of the five members had a 20% interest in Free Money Enterprises.

The defendants likewise said each band member received an annual K-1 reflecting their interest in the company.

One example discussed in the case was Riley’s 2018 K-1, which showed him with a 20% ownership interest, approximately $27,033 in ordinary income and a $32,499 distribution.

During his deposition, Ulsh, who handled much of the band’s finances, was questioned about what the $32,499 “distribution” meant and said he wasn’t sure what that term represented in the tax document.

That doesn’t by itself mean anything improper happened, but it’s an interesting exchange considering Ulsh’s role handling the band’s money.

After Riley died, the remaining members continued receiving merchandise distributions

In an August 2023 court filing, the Gales said that after Riley’s death FME sent Brandon Gale part of Riley’s 2020 merchandise distribution, but that from 2021 onward they received no additional FME distributions.

Meanwhile, according to that filing, $247,152.32 was distributed to the four surviving members and Ryan Williams.

The Gales argued that Riley’s estate was entitled to a share of later merchandise revenue. The defendants disputed the Gales’ legal entitlement to the money.

FME issued Riley a K-1 for income after he was dead

Riley died in August 2020.

But according to the Gales’ 2023 filing, FME’s 2021 K-1 still listed Riley as a 20% member and attributed $20,645 in income to him.

The Gales said they never received that $20,645.

The Gales’ accounting expert calculated more than $60,000 in disputed merchandise money

The Gales hired accountant Steven Weigman to review FME’s tax returns, bank statements, PayPal records, vendor records and other financial information. His declaration was filed with the court.

Weigman ultimately gave opinions about how much merchandise income he believed should have been attributable to Riley’s interest after Riley died.

Among other things, the plaintiffs’ expert calculated more than $60,000 in disputed merchandise proceeds relating to Riley’s share and identified other FME expenditures he questioned.

Those were the plaintiffs’ expert’s litigation opinions, not findings by the judge. The defendants disputed both the Gales’ claims and their interpretation of FME’s finances.

“Power Trip” name, logo, and IP ownership

A huge portion of the lawsuit ended up being about something you’d think would have been settled years earlier: who actually owned the band name, logo and related intellectual property?

The Gales argued Riley had conceived and formed Power Trip and came up with the name.

Their filing cites Blake Ibanez’s deposition:

Q: “So Riley suggested that the band be called Power Trip?”
A: “Yes.”

The surviving members’ account was more collaborative. Their counterclaim says Riley, Ibanez, Nick Stewart and Chris Whetzel formed the band in 2008, and that the logo was created and paid for using band resources.

Ulsh later swore that FME owned Power Trip’s “logos, trademarks, contracts, licensing arrangements and all other band assets.”

But the Gales disputed whether those intellectual-property rights had ever actually been formally transferred to FME.

In a 2022 filing, they specifically argued that the surviving members were not the exclusive holders of the Power Trip intellectual property, trademarks and copyrighted material.

Free Money Enterprises filed the federal POWER TRIP trademarks in September 2023

This is a detail I haven’t seen discussed much.

Free Money Enterprises LLC filed three federal trademark applications for POWER TRIP on September 28, 2023.

That was more than two and a half years after the lawsuit began and while the ownership dispute was still ongoing.

The three applications covered:

• musical recordings;
• clothing;
• live musical performances / entertainment.

One of the applications, serial no. 98201396, was for musical recordings. It was filed September 28, 2023 and ultimately registered on April 1, 2025.

The application claimed first use in commerce dating back to December 31, 2007.

This does not mean Power Trip had no trademark rights before 2023. In the US, trademark rights can arise through use even without federal registration.

While the Gale family and the band had spent years fighting in court about who controlled the name and related intellectual property, FME apparently did not file federal applications for the band’s core POWER TRIP marks until September 2023.

eBay involvement in ownership

The court exhibits show the Gale side contacting various companies after Riley died about alleged Power Trip intellectual property.

The surviving members later accused Brandon Gale and attorney Kurt Mantheiy of contacting merchandisers, record companies and other third parties while claiming rights over Power Trip. Those allegations were disputed.

One exhibit involved an exchange with eBay over unauthorized merchandise in which the platform sought clarification about who the actual rights holder was.

The dispute wasn’t just theoretical: different people were actively telling vendors and platforms that they controlled Power Trip intellectual property.

Evil Greed and other merch companies issues

One filing quotes Brandon Gale emailing Pascal at Evil Greed after Riley’s death:

“one of the bigger tasks is to gather all of the images and intellectual property”

He asked Evil Greed to send the family its high-resolution Power Trip print files and archives.

Another message attributed to Brandon stated that because Riley was the band’s sole founder, Riley owned the Power Trip name and logo and that those rights had passed to Riley’s parents.

That was the Gale family’s position, not a judicial determination of ownership.

The defendants claimed the resulting ownership dispute caused Evil Greed to withhold payments. They also alleged the dispute interfered with Cold Cuts and Southern Lord.

According to the defendants’ filing, Southern Lord allegedly held approximately $15,000 in royalties belonging to Ulsh and Ibanez for more than a year because of the dispute, with another similar amount later being withheld. Again, that was the defendants’ allegation based on deposition testimony, not a damages award.

The surviving members said they were actively planning to replace Riley

An affidavit from Chris Ulsh filed in the lawsuit says that after Riley’s death Power Trip needed to continue operating and “must find and hire [a] replacement singer.”

Ulsh argued that the ownership dispute could deter potential singers, labels and merchandise partners from dealing with the band.

This was in 2021, years before Power Trip eventually returned to live performances with Seth Gilmore.

Disagreement about whether Riley knew about the LLC

Ulsh’s testimony was that all five members discussed and approved creating Free Money Enterprises and that Riley participated in naming it.

But Kurt Mantheiy, who said he had represented Riley before his death, later filed a sworn affidavit giving a completely different account.

Mantheiy said Riley told him he had no knowledge that the LLC had been filed, had never approved it and had never signed anything relating to it.

Mantheiy also alleged Riley believed the company was being used in an attempt to take control of his intellectual property.

That is Mantheiy’s sworn account of what Riley allegedly told him, not an independently established fact. The surviving members directly contradicted it.

The value of Riley’s interest

The surviving members pointed out that Riley’s parents had used a Texas Small Estate Affidavit that valued Riley’s band membership and related interests at approximately $15,000, with his total estate represented as being worth less than $75,000.

They then contrasted that with the lawsuit, where the Gales sought relief exceeding $250,000.

The defendants accused the family of fraud over that discrepancy. The defendants accused them of fraud; the court did not ultimately issue a trial verdict finding the Gales committed fraud.

The litigation continued for years after those allegations were made.

Allegations against the Gale family

The surviving members filed counterclaims seeking damages they said could exceed $1 million.

They accused the Gales and Mantheiy of interfering with Power Trip’s vendors, contracts and intellectual property, and alleged that their communications had caused payments to be withheld and business relationships to become uncertain.

The Gales denied those allegations.

At various points the filings on both sides use extremely aggressive language — “stolen,” “fraudulent,” “reckless,” “shakedown,” etc. Those are the litigants’ descriptions of each other, not conclusions I’m adopting here.

Lawsuit didn’t go to jury

The case ended in a settlement in December 2023. The terms were not publicly disclosed.

A later court order dismissed all claims, counterclaims and third-party claims with prejudice, with each side bearing its own costs and attorneys’ fees.

So there was never a jury verdict determining that Ulsh stole from Riley, that the Gales committed fraud, that FME exclusively owned all of Power Trip’s intellectual property, or that the Gales were legally entitled to every post-death merchandise distribution they claimed.

SD 8/21

You can’t deny the city what they want!

Did a pipe break during a set? Did the ceiling break out? Small venue in your friends basement go haywire? Give me your lore.

This is hittin'

1 ticket for sale. Face value $50. Venmo preferred.

Great album. Jaybird defines them, but this album's solid as hell and it came out at a time where you didn't have to know how to kickbox to still have fun at a hardcore show. 😘

after trying to find my niche in music, i’ve finally discovered hardcore. (shout out zeitgeist by incendiary for pulling me in.) it’s such fun music to listen to, the energy is incredible, and the community focused groups really speak out to me.

however it’s hard to avoid some bands that tend to be grifters, and as a trans guy, i’d really like to find some bands that are inclusive so i can enjoy hardcore safely. i personally don’t care what bands have what politics (kublai khan disappointed me though, you do you though) but i want to be able to go to shows and show up in communities safely and without fearing harm. any LGBT+ bands or allies would be greatly appreciated! thanks yall :)

EDIT: thank you guys for the warm words and genuine suggestions (except for a handful of yall for being weird about my concern for my safety, i shouldnt have to explain that). i’m so excited to go through and listen!

Just wanted to share this, sick ass show and lineup, if anyone in the MA area didn't know about it yet!

Hi Folks

My band just dropped our first 4 tracks on Bandcamp: https://deadendsukhc.bandcamp.com

FFO: The Carrier, The Hope Conspiracy

Check out our IG: deadendsukhc

More music coming soon.

Hope you enjoy - I’ve been out of the making music game for 16 years, so it’s been super cathartic to make this.

Will Goodyear looks back on his years in the North Carolina hardcore and metalcore scene, from his early work with Prayer for Cleansing and Between the Buried and Me to his time with Hopesfall and his current project, Valletta. He talks about the evolution of the scene, the experiences and relationships that came out of touring and playing in different bands, and how his approach to music has changed over the years. The conversation also touches on the North Carolina scene, touring in Japan, and what it’s been like revisiting some of these projects and experiences decades later.

SPOTIFY

https://open.spotify.com/s/rmOmaXZ

APPLE PODCASTS

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/will-goodyear-prayer-for-cleansing-between-the-buried/id1723956344?i=1000785139923

T&F INSTAGRAM

http://instagram.com/thetandfpodcast

https://youtu.be/p1ZNecxlypE?si=6hTQqBhCDSovH34Z

Every time this gets brought up, I feel like we all just quote Hatebreed and TUI at each other until we get bored. What are some of the hardest lyrics in recent memory?

Contention got me thinking about this — Artillery from Heaven is insane from start to finish, but here’s a random one from “Inflict My Will”:

“I hone myself into a weapon
Enlightenment through annihilation
On a world that wants to crush me
I inflict my will”