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Stevie Rachelle of Tuff and Danny Bazzi of Silverback Touring Australia
DISCLAIMER:
Metal Sludge want to make others aware of a situation involving a music promoter based in Australia.
To date, several individuals have provided written statements indicating they are still awaiting payment for services rendered.
Their statements include various amounts owed, dates payments were expected along with some of what they experienced first-hand.
This information is based on documentation and accounts provided directly by the individuals involved.
Metal Sludge nor myself are not making any legal conclusions, but rather we are sharing these reports so others can be informed.
If you have had a similar experience, you may want to seek independent legal advice or connect with others in a similar position.
All individuals referenced have consented to their experiences being included in this article.
“Danny… I am so very disappointed that we are here.”
— Stevie Rachelle
LOS ANGELES, California — I never like having to do this, but I cannot allow my voice to be silenced regarding the recently cancelled Australian tour-run featuring Trixter, Lorraine Lewis of Femme Fatale and myself (Stevie Rachelle The Voice of Tuff)… with Danny Bazzi and his Silverback Touring company.
Let me preface this by saying, I am not perfect and have shown plenty of flaws in both my personal and professional life over 60 years.
We all make mistakes, we all drop the ball, and we’ve all made decisions that we are not proud of… whether it was last week, last year or last century.
But most of us learn from our mistakes and over time as we grow, we realize right from wrong.
I’d like to also state, this is my story, these are my words, this is simply my opinion, how I feel and what I think.
I will be naming names, musicians, bands and others who will be noted in my story, but none of those persons have had any influence on me writing this… this is all on me!
To be clear, Danny Bazzi and Silverback Touring owe me NO MONEY… NOT A SINGLE PENNY – and – we have had a positive and friendly relationship since being introduced online in 2022.
So, why would I stick my neck out and write this piece, and share this story?
Simple… because many of my comrades, peers, friends and other hard-working musicians, bands and fans from throughout this industry, have come forward and are alleging that they have been wronged.
It should be noted that none of their allegations have been founded or confirmed.
However, today I sit with a list of more than 2 dozen individual bands, artists, and people who are all accusing Danny Bazzi and Silverback Touring of not following through as promised with their individual contracts or agreements.
To be clear they are alleging this, and while I have no proof of what really happened between these parties a decade ago or last week… one thing I do know is, when this many people start sharing their story, perhaps there should be a deeper dive into what’s really going on.
There’s an old saying:“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”
Part 1/4 –FALL of 2022 – My Introduction to Danny Bazzi
I first was introduced to Danny Bazzi in late August of 2022, by a mutual-friend from Australia… and I was informed of an impending event (tour) to be held Down Under in early 2023.
A few e-mail exchanges and soon I was sorting details with Danny Bazzi of Silverback Touring about Tuff appearing on his inaugural Glam-Fest Oz tour which was to feature; Faster Pussycat, Wednesday 13, Eclipse and Enuff Z’Nuff along with PBF and a handful of regional Aussie acts… namely Sisters Doll, Cassidy Paris and Crosson among other locals.
Two of those acts (SD & CP) are building themselves a nice little career at a young age, already touring in other countries outside their native Australia hitting the U.K., parts of Europe and the U.S.A. too boot… and both have been featured on the very popular Monsters of Rock Cruises.
The Glam-Fest Oz tour was slated to have 4 shows including; Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney in that order, all in late January 2023, 4 days in a row, and we all flew each morning early to arrive to the next city for the show that night.
To be 100% honest, I was almost sure this would never happen as even an event like this in the U.S.A. – festivals like – Rock Gone Wild in Iowa, Rock Harvest in Maryland or Rock N’ Skull in Illinois – all faced challenges when hosting an event with mostly C-list and D-list 80’s bands.
Not too mention the Farm Rock events that happened, even with a few perhaps shall we call them B-list bands sprinkled in, they too failed to meet expectations when it came to tickets sold or the overall attendance.
But, I gotta give my props and respect to Danny Bazzi and Silverback Touring as they pulled off what not only I… but several others along the way thought would be nearly impossible.
Silverback Touring flew 28 musicians round-trip from both America and Scandinavia to Australia, and my best guesstimate is… those 28 flights alone cost roughly $50,000.00 U.S. Dollars, which equates to about $70,000.00 Australian Dollars.
And that was just getting the 6 bands on the ground Down Under, they also bought and sorted 28 flights from Brisbane to Melbourne, 28 more from Melbourne to Adelaide, and another 28 from Adelaide to Sydney.
This did not include the traveling team associated with Silverback, ie: Danny Bazzi, to my recollection there were 4 different tour manages, a few other employees and a few of the regional Aussie bands were on our flights as well.
Not sure they were paid for flights like all of us International artists were, but there were upwards of 50 people in our daily touring party… I even shared content at the time on my IG, of roughly 150 pieces of luggage, guitars, basses, cases, merchandise boxes and more… all being handled each day, for every flight, to and from the venues and hotels.
If you add on the opening Aussie bands and the Silverback Touring staff, we’re talking a staggering 200 flights in a week’s time… that is a lot of details and a lot of money to cover those flights.
In short… I was impressed, as there was a lot going on but somehow, it all was falling into place.
Bravo to Danny, his entire team and Silverback Touring… and I expressed to him personally on more than a few occasions how detailed and organized he was.
But… like all things in life… there are different sides of the fence, and different days of the week as well.
Monday can be miserable at work, tons of traffic, pouring rain and your bills are piling up… then by Friday, you got paid, the sun is out and things are all just hitting on all cylinders just as you’d want them too.
Such was the case with Glam-Fest Oz 2023, and for the most part, each and everyone of my dealings with Danny Bazzi in 2023… let’s just say… that Glam-Fest Oz 2023 was like a Friday!
Over the next few years I kept in touch with Danny, a few of the related Silverback Touring staff members along with some new (and old) fans whom I had met while in Australia.
Full disclosure, this run in 2023 was my 2nd time touring there, as I previously did shows in Sydney and Melbourne back in 2007.
Now fast forward to 2025, and at some point I was offered an opportunity to come back down to Australia from Silverback Touring, but early on I (we) realized the budget was going to be tighter, and it would not be the full band, yet rather just me fronting a group of Aussie musicians.
Also, I was not the headliner, but once again a support / opening act, and I was okay with that… I know where I rank in this world and I am fine with going on 1st, 3rd, 5th or 10th… I just want the chance to perform, meet fans, sell my brand and keep checking off the Bucket List before it’s over.
Part 2/4 – HELLO 2025 – Offers & Interest to Return to Australia from Danny Bazzi
In 2025 there were a few options that were presented or I was considered to be a part of by Silverback Touring, including supporting Cherie Currie of The Runaways, there was also a run with Winger and there was also talk about bringing a few singers down to Australia and sharing one live band… which had Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens (Ex-Judas Priest, KK’s Priest) and myself, Stevie Rachelle the Voice of Tuff as a possibility.
None of these obviously materialized for one reason or another, and eventually last fall, the Trixter tour was offered and I jumped on it along with Lorraine Lewis of Femme Fatale.
After a few weeks of back n’ forth, our tour was announced on Monday November 10th 2025… we were all stoked and looking forward to touring Australia.
Within days of posting that tour… my inbox started to get messages, as did the others associated with this tour… and of course, soon we were all comparing notes and had some concern.
As this tour announcement started making the rounds even more, it was followed by more messages, texts, calls, and before long, I was staring a list of names, bands, artists, agents, managers and investors… with numbers, names and dollar amounts attached… and I was honestly quite shocked.
Again, these are all allegations from various individuals, their stories are their opinions regarding each of their unique experiences with Danny Bazzi and Silverback Touring.
Just being honest… what I read made me sad, and my level of concern went up even more.
—–
Pictured at right: This is just ‘1’ of dozens of exchanges I had with Danny in recent months, trying to solidify details related to our agreement. I sent this on 3/17/2026 (5 days prior) to my departure date 3/22/2026, and I had still not received my round-trip flight.
——
Of course all of this was news to me… I had no connection to any of this… and while I knew several of those names listed, there were others I did not know… but it bothered me a lot as Danny was someone I considered a friend and these allegations against him were disturbing.
I myself had a basic agreement with Danny, which noted a few simple requests… a reasonable and dare I admit – a small guarantee – which I asked for 50% up front, and 50% while in Australia.
Full disclosure, I knew Trixter were sorting their wants and needs per their agreement over recent months, and I figured I’d get my money from Danny at some point one way or another… after-all, he was my friend… right… so I did not pressure him for my deposit even though he agreed to it.
I also noted to Danny my round-trip flight was to be paid for and requested that I have access to coordinate (edit) seat choices, meals and related flight details.
My agreement also included that I would receive my own hotel-room nightly while in Australia, all related ground and air-travel while in the country, the backup band’s fee was to be covered as well, along with their respective accommodations and our rehearsals once I arrived in Sydney.
Lastly… I wanted to handle and control 100% of my merchandise sales… all aspects whether cash, credit card, electronic, etc… this is where an artist makes their money at shows… selling Swag, CDs, Vinyl, etc…
I also said “No” to Danny‘s offer of coordinating Meet & Greet packages for me… and we also declined his M&G offer for Tuff back in 2023.
Danny agreed with my simple requests for March 2026 and we moved forward.
All of this was agreed to and I felt confident for 2 reasons… first off it was only me… 1 guy, which meant 1 flight each way, 1 hotel each night and 1 mouth to be feed.
My second thought was… Danny is my friend… it’s going to be a great time and another great tour of Australia.
My situation (agreement) and Lorraine‘s were both similar and sorted fairly easily, and in early December Lorraine and I were introduced to a guitarist named VOYA who was the musical director for his group, who were put in place to be our back-up band for our sets on the late March 2026 tour.
All of this felt like it would be a rather easy tour run for Silverback to handle, simply because I had previously been down there with Tuff in 2023, and you see the numbers above… the crazy amount of band members, flights and more.
In discussing with PJ Farley of Trixter, he too had a previous experience with Silverback Touring when Buckcherry and Fozzy did a tour-run back in 2022, and he too said he had a positive experience.
So… I felt safe to assume; “If he can handle these tours with 12-15 or as many as 30 bodies traveling all over Australia… surely he can handle it when there are only going to be 5 of us!”
But… as we were taught growing up… never assume!
As of Saturday March 21st 2026, I woke to an email from Danny suggesting we postpone the tour.
As of that morning on March 21st 2026, I was roughly 36 hours before my planned departure from LAX to Sydney… and I had not received any deposit from Danny nor my confirmed round-trip ticket, or my certified VISA documents that I had submitted information for many weeks earlier.
I guess it’s safe to say… the sh!t had started to hit the fan.
Part 3/4 – HELLO 2026 – Red Flags Were Flying And It Started Getting More Concerning
Over the last few months, I was starting to feel the stress and all of us were on pins and needles, as we were getting closer to our departure date and subsequent Australian tour.
Sadly the excitement to tour Australia faded in the final weeks as we were all receiving these warnings from other bands, musicians and companies telling us to be careful.
Again… these were their allegations based on their experiences…
However, for our group… we were holding onto hope as previously stated, 1/3 of Trixter – PJ Farley who toured Australia with Fozzy in 2022 – and myself with Tuff in 2023, we both had very positive experiences with Danny Bazzi and Silverback Touring.
Let me also make a note here, in all of my years just shy of 4 decades of doing this work, I have never once had a Promoter buy me a 1-Way flight to their destination, and tell me the return ticket was in the que or processing and it would be issued separately 48 hours later.
Mind you that time frame was given when we were set to leave just a mere 72 hours after those messages.
Going back to my analogy used earlier in this article about the different sides of the fence, life having its ups and downs, or the days of the week… well… this experience was now much more like a miserable Monday than waking up happy on a Friday.
I have to be honest, Danny and I exchanged a lot during the 3.5 years we’ve known each other, and even in the last few months, it was business as usual with our long distance friendship, but… he did at points say things that suggested there were some problems in his world… whether personal or professional I wasn’t sure.
I had recently sent him a song, telling him it was a positive message and uplifting that he should listen to it, something to bring his spirits up… if you will.
And even as recent as last week on Tuesday March 17th, the 18th, 19th & 20th… I still felt confident Danny was going to handle all and we’d be on our flights for our shows Down Under in Australia… simply because Danny continued to tell me things like all is well, don’t worry and ensuring me things will be fine.
In one of his final messages Danny wrote on Friday March 20th 2026 (7:10AM PST):“I understand the discomfort but I won’t let a tour go astray this far into my career“, and then 24 hours later his output and tone took a drastic change.
I guess the Music Gods had other plans, and Danny e-mailed us and suggested a Postponement on early Saturday morning March 21st.
It was at that point, that myself (Stevie Rachelle), the Trixter band and Lorraine Lewis all agreed to not go and cancel the tour… first and foremost, based on the fact that we did not have any of our return flights confirmed, or the intercontinental flights confirmed, or any of the related Hotel details for our stay in Australia as well, none of this was confirmed… adding I never received my VISA either, even though I filled out and submitted the requested details to be added to these official documents.
It was too risky… and I feel we made the right decision… especially after I’ve read what was hitting my inbox and I’ve now shared for you all below.
Part 4/4 – The Damages Alleged By Multiple Artists, Companies & Investors Against Danny Bazzi
*NOTE: I want to emphasize, these are all merely allegations and there is no proof in our possession to note that Danny Bazzi or Silverback Touring have done anything wrong whatsoever, regarding any of those claims related to their statements submitted to Metal Sludge and shared below.
Below is a list of bands, musicians, companies and individuals who are all alleging the following against Danny Bazzi and Silverback Touring.
After we announced our Trixter, Stevie Rachelle & Lorraine Lewis tour in November of 2025, within days the e-mails, messages and more started coming in from other acts who wanted to share with us their concerns.
In truth, we cannot confirm any of these allegations, we are simply sharing their stories with ours!
All of these statements below have been forwarded by the individual parties, to be included in this article.
“In April 2023, I provided a $30,000 short-term loan intended to fund the Skid Row Australian tour, which was ultimately contracted under the entity DB Touring despite personal negotiations with Danny Bazzi. Although I acted in good faith by freezing interest and penalties to accommodate a repayment plan, only $7,000 has been repaid, with all payments ceasing entirely in early 2024. Despite my long-standing personal support for Danny Bazzi, I can no longer remain silent regarding a business model that consistently leaves local and international artists, crew, and service providers—including Cassidy Paris, Wicked Smile, Tyketto, Bulls on Parade, and many others—unpaid. This statement serves as a factual account of my experience with Silverback Touring’s failure to honour its financial obligations and is intended to provide transparency for the music community regarding these outstanding debts.”
— Marcelo Machado / former Silverback Touring employee & investor
“It has now been over a year since Tyketto played in Australia and Silverback still owe us $13,000.00.”
— Danny Vaughn / Tyketto
“In 2022, Bulls on Parade toured Australia for 6 shows booked by Silverback. While the fans were incredible, the financial reality has been a nightmare. To this day, the $12,000.00 fee remains unpaid. For two years, Danny (the owner of Silverback) repeatedly assured us that payment was coming, insisting he ‘wasn’t that kind of person.’ Unfortunately, his actions have proven otherwise. We are speaking out to ensure no other international band is led down the same path of broken promises.“
— Bulls on Parade (Belgium) – Written by Tomadde, the singer and band Manager
“BTE, Inc. is owed $20,564.04 since March of 2023“
— BTE, Inc.
“Last year I tried to get out of my four show tour with Danny Bazzi and Silverback Touring when he hadn’t booked our plane flights five days before we were to leave. After 50 years in this business I knew there was something wrong.
Unfortunately he talked me into going. The tour was successful. The first show alone generated over $30,000.00 in ticket sales but he never paid me a dime.
When we returned to the states he first threatened that we hadn’t filled out tax forms so Australia would now take 47% of all my earnings. I had pre-paid my players out of my pocket while in OZ so they were safe.
It took 5 months to get paid for my shows and it wasn’t enough to cover expenses. Been waiting six months for my $15,000.00 in M&G money which is how I’m paid so my players get great wage.
Nothing but excuses and straight out lies. He even let me buy him breakfast at the airport knowing he had no plan to pay me.
The Australian authorities need to jail him, stop him before he destroys all credibility of Australia to care for entertainers that give so much to be there.”
— Cherie Currie from The Runaways
“Cassidy Paris is owed $2,435.00 by Silverback Touring. Combined for unpaid merchandise sales and performance fees that have not been settled. Multiple attempts to resolve the matter went unanswered, and they later responded stating the company was in liquidation while continuing to operate under the same name.”
— Cassidy Paris – from Steven Janevski, band Manager
“I am owed $7,000.00 from 2 tours with Silverback in 2017.”
— Dellacoma ‘Del’ Rio (Solo Artist)
“Sadly it was 6 months straight of issues and excuses as to why payout was always delayed, and when Danny claimed money was sent, screenshots were repeatedly requested as proof, which were never provided and the funds were never received.”
— Jake Hays, Musical Director The Cherie Currie Band
“My band the Pearl Jam Experience did a national tour with Silverback touring in 2022. The tour was a great success with Danny promising me more tours in the future. Unfortunately we were never paid the agreed money for the tour.
After performing at the Loud-Fest show in Melbourne and also failing to be paid the agreed amount we emailed Danny mentioning that the industry was coming out of COVID and he had just had a successful Skid Row tour. Then maybe he could pay us what we were owed. His words were to the effect “It’s not our place to ask him for money”.
He made it clear that we should consider ourselves lucky to have had him book our band. Unlike other tribute bands who continued to drink the kool-aid we cut our losses and had nothing more to do with him.
My last conversation with Danny was after booking a national tour in 2023 with October Presents when Danny made it clear he considered me a traitor. Once again I mentioned that he still hadn’t payed us the agreed Amount. He simply stated “Good luck you’re gonna need it”.
He then booked the other Pearl Jam Tribute show in Melbourne Even Flow. I have no idea if they got paid. He only booked them once.
I don’t know the exact figure he owes us – about $5,000.00. I know it’s chicken feed compared to some of the others. Good luck and congrats on lifting the lid on the worst kept secret in the Australian touring music industry.”
— The Pearl Jam Experience / Australia
“Wicked Smile are owed $2,535.00 by Silverback Touring for merchandise sales & performance fees.”
— Wicked Smile – Steven Janevski, band Manager
“Warbirds was the support band and supplied the back-line for Pop Evil Tour in 2019 and it’s owed $500.00 ever since. Silverback made no attempt to settle the debt and hasn’t responded ever since.”
— Anth Nekich / Band Leader
“I had done work for DB Touring & Silverback Touring as a Tour Manager //Audio Op // Promoter Rep since around the 2018-19 mark, Danny was always slow with payment but I was able to get invoice settlement for the previous tours before the next tour started (which looking back now was leverage i had over him), this stopped after a run i did with The Iron Maidens (US all female Maiden tribute) which was closely followed by a Skid Row run in 2023, I’m still owed just shy of $10k AUD for these runs which I have on numerous occasions tried to get settlement, even suggesting a payment plan which Danny initially agreed to but i have still never received a single cent for my services for these tours.
Danny has always played the ‘poor me’ card (the Skid Row run was cut short due to band illness) which i bought for a while but I am obviously over & done with this line, afyet seeing his numerous business class trips to Thailand & constant acts that he’s actively promoting, so I’m currently pursuing debt recovery through legal means.”
— Paulie Tipping / former Silverback Touring & DB Touring Tour Manager
“I am owed $450 for my last show 6 months ago. I was core crew for 4 years.”
— Jeff “JD” Drummond / Stage Manager
In closing… I’d like to extend my apologies to those who have been left wondering, waiting and simply want a straight answer as to what happened… or why our latest tour was cancelled in Australia.
I hope that what I have just shared will shed some light on our shows, and others that have allegedly faced problems and experienced concerns, from the bands, to managers, agents, touring employees and without a doubt all of the fans, venues, and any of those individuals related to these matters.
If anyone needs to or wants to reach me, regarding any of the above, please e-mail direct.
Thank you all for reading…
— Stevie Rachelle / Tuff / Metal Sludge
> SludgeCeo @ (Gmail) . (Com)
