Egos can be a tough thing to work around. Particularly in a band setting, when a person's hard, creative work is constantly being evaluated by peers, the presence of an inflated ego can be highly combustible. Lots of bands have fallen victim to one or more members' runaway egos. Often, there are arguments over whose ideas are best, and some members may be pushed into a corner while a more charismatic figure takes center stage. When ego finally arrests any potential for group collaboration, we fans are often forced to endure tepid solo careers and extensive media hoopla. And unfortunately, egos tend to run hottest when things are going well: a huge album, a growing fanbase, and a cult of personality swell up and get into a musician's head. This is a list of ten bands with members who just couldnt work within the constraints of democratic collaboration. They bickered in the press, shot down other members ideas, hogged all the glory for themselves or even developed messiah complexes. Whatever the extent of their ego, these bands just can't play nice anymore.
Kyle Schmidlin is a writer and musician living in Austin, TX. He manages the news blog at thirdrailnews.wordpress.com. Follow him at facebook.com/kyleschmidlin or twitter.com/kyleschmidlin1.
