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Mastodon manager Nick John passes away

Veteran manager was diagnosed with cancer in August

By Gordon Masson on 18 Sep 2018

Nick John with Mastodon


Nick John, who counted Mastodon, Slayer and French act Gojira among his management clients, died earlier this month, it has been confirmed.

In late August, Mastodon and Dinosaur Jr. cancelled their joint North American tour, which was due to begin 1 September, citing a “critical situation of a member of the Mastodon family.” The band later revealed that John had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

John, who had been part of Rick Sales Entertainment for more than 20 years, had represented Mastodon since 2004, but also had management associations with Slayer and Gojira. He began his career in music as an intern at Rick Rubin’s Def Jam Recordings.

News of his death was confirmed by Mastodon guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds, who posted an Instagram message that included a picture of John and a broken heart emoji.

“We love you very much and are going to miss you more than we know.”

“We are deeply saddened and heartbroken by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Nick John,” Rick Sales, Kristen Mulderig and Ernie Gonzalez of Rick Sales Entertainment told Pollstar in a statement. “Nick was an incredibly kind, smart, and generous person who was always great to be around. He inspired people and always made sure everyone felt great about their contributions to the projects that he led. His passion and knowledge for music was tremendous and it really showed through his work and success. We love and miss Nick John more than we can ever express with words.”

Paying tribute to John, Mastodon posted the following heartfelt post on their Instagram account: “Thank you for your guidance, your wisdom , your never ending hard work and dedication to Mastodon, always pushing and reaching turning over every stone to make sure we were always protected and always had every opportunity any of us could dream of. Thank you for making yourself available morning noon and night to handle every crisis or situation that ever came up. Thank you for being so passionate and believing in us with such enthusiasm that we considered you part of the band.

“Thank you for your calm demeanor, your level head and your sharp sense of humor. Thank you for showing all of us how to work our phones and computers with incredible patience via NJ solutions. Thank you for your smile and your infectious laugh but most of all, thank you for your unconditional love and friendship, we love you very much and are going to miss you more than we know. We love you Nick John. RIP. Sending love and strength to his wife @theoriginalleen who is also a dear friend of ours. We love you Colleen!”

 


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