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G.M.A. FAQ’S
Q: I want to join the G.M.A. What do I need to do?
A: Read over the “Manifesto”, “Statement of Purpose” & “Prospect Protocol” which can be found in the blog section of the G.M.A. Georgia Chapter page. If you are in agreement, contact the President of the state chapter that you reside in and make a request to prospect. If a chapter has not yet been established in your state, contact our International president for information. DO NOT take it upon yourself to announce that you are a prospect without the approval of a G.M.A. ranking officer.
Q: How long do I have to prospect?
A: There is no specific time period. The length of time will depend upon how active you are in accordance with the “Prospect Protocol”. Exceptions can be made for prospects that are well acquainted with and recommended by a trusted G.M.A. officer.
Q: Do I have to send in my $20.00 to be a prospect?
A: NO. You are being evaluated during your prospect period. Only after you have been approved for membership, will need to submit you membership fee for your official G.M.A. member chest patch. Along with your membership fee, you must include a printed out copy of your membership application.
* Keep in mind that despite your payment to the club, patches DO NOT BELONG TO YOU! Patches are CLUB PROPERTY and MUST be relinquished if you are either ejected or decide to leave the G.M.A.
Q: Where do I send payment once I’m approved for membership?
A: It should be sent to the President who resides over your state.
Q: As a member, will I be given G.M.A. colors?
A: With Your $20.00 membership fee, the G.M.A. will provide you with your G.M.A. chest patch. You will have to purchase your own black leather vest to display them on. You are expected to purchase strip patches and a back patch within 6 months of becoming an approved member. Contact the President of your state for ordering info. Our members are proud to display our colors and don’t have issues with investing a little of their own money for the privilege of showing the world that they are counted among the elite of International H.M.C.’s.
*Keep in mind that ANY club you join, be it an H.M.C., M.C., The Boy Scouts, The Cub Scouts, The Knights of Columbus or any other legitimate, established organization/club, you will ALWAYS have to submit a membership fee. In many cases, you’re expected to pay yearly dues to maintain your membership. With certain clubs you’re even expected to pay hefty monthly fees. This is NOT the case with the Georgia Metal Alliance Int’l H.M.C. A one time, $20.00 fee is all you will ever be expected to pay for your membership. And again, like any other club, patches, t-shirts, pins, ball caps and other swag is NEVER free! Many clubs provide member catalogs in order for its members to select the merchandise they wish to purchase. So don’t let us hear you bitching about having to pay for your own patches/swag. If you can’t afford it, DO NOT APPROACH US FOR MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION!!!
Q: Can I join the G.M.A. if I am already a member of another club?
A: NO If you want to join our ranks, you CANNOT be affiliated with any other H.M.C. We expect complete loyalty.
*We make an exception for the B.L.S. fans who wear Black Label Society swag as they are primarily a fan/support group for the band. The Black Label Society is a band, period! They are NOT an H.M.C., despite their fan attire which resembles that of legit H.M.C./M.C. colors. They are NOT a metal club. Zakk Wylde himself with tell you this himself. They can call themselves a family and feel camaraderie amongst themselves and wear leather vests w/patches, but again, they are NOT an H.M.C.
Q: What patches can I display on my vest?
A: Bands that fall into the following sub-genres of metal:
Classic Metal, Traditional Metal, Thrash, Doom, Hardcore, Black Metal, Progressive, Power, Symphonic, Goth-Metal, Death, Classic Rock. Punk bands are also allowed to be displayed, however they must fall into the category of Classic, ’77 Punk as opposed to trendy, Pop-Punk, corporate bands.
*Military, Militia, Law Enforcement, Patriotic & Sports team patches are also allowed to be displayed.
Q: I’m in a band. What will the G.M.A. do for us?
A: It’s not what the G.M.A. will do for you & your band, but rather how dedicated are you to the metal life style and the dissemination and promotion of the G.M.A. as well as local, underground metal bands in your respective community. The G.M.A. supports their own, regardless of whether you’re in a band or not. Non-G.M.A. members (civilians) are still considered metalhead, headbangers, etc., just like the rest of us. The difference between a non-G.M.A. metalhead as opposed to a fully patched in member of the G.M.A. is the level of dedication involved.
Q: What genre of metal does the G.M.A. support?
A: Re-read “What patches can I display on my vest?” Basically, we will usually not support souless, manufactured, bands created by already opulent, major record labels for the sole purpose of augmenting, aggrandizing and further enriching themselves. Classic Metal/Classic Rock bands are supported only because they have already been established as pioneers in their genres and have earned the respect of music lovers, world-wide.
Q: How long has the G.M.A. been around?
A: The Georgia Metal Alliance Int’l (H.M.C.) was officially established in the Autumn 2007 but did not become fully active ‘til January of 2008. However, the founder of the G.M.A., Nik aka “Bloodstorm”, who is in his mid-40s, is a lifelong Metal, life styler and musician, who has been actively involved in the Metal, music scene in New York and Florida since his teens and has earned the respect of many established musicians/promoters/producers in the industry.
Q: I want to join, but there is no local chapter where I live. What do I do?
A: You can still be prospected and brought in as a fully patched member and when a chapter has been officially established in your state/country, you will be notified by the President of said chapter.
Q: Do I need a MySpace/Facebook account in order to join?
A: No. The G.M.A. is NOT an online, metal support/promotion, fan group. We are active in our respective, local metal/global metal community from a grass roots level and do most of our work, offline. We use MySpace, Facebook PalTalk and other social networking communities online for communication, networking with other G.M.A. chapters in other states/countries as well as with non-G.M.A. individuals in the metal music industry, e.g., bands, producers, promoters, etc. Again, you are not required to have a MySpace, Facebook account, but it is encouraged for the purpose of networking. There are many G.M.A. members who are not actively online, therefore our numbers cannot be determined by how many of us you encounter online.
Q: What am I expected to do once I’m patched in?
A: You will be expected to be a fully active member. A member who has heart and passion for the club, the metal scene/ subculture and lifestyle who will attend club events, go to concerts/shows and show support for local, underground bands, be involved in chapter activities and not stagnate. We DO NOT WANT members who receive their patches and then toss them into a drawer somewhere and not have the incentive to purchase a black leather vest and sew them on. We would rather give those patches to someone who will bring game to the club, not hold our patches hostage while they sit on their asses! In fact, members who become stagnant and inactive will eventually be asked to return their patches to the club and will be removed as a member, so keep that in mind before you decide to take that first step!
Q: since you all wear jackets, vests with back patches, are you peopling a heavy metal gang or something?
A: Absolutely NOT!!! We wear “colors” as a uniform in order to indentify ourselves as an established organization, similar to other groups who also wear similar attire, however, not to be confused with a motorcycle club, nor a gang of any kind. Members of the G.M.A. are expected to be law abiding members of society and will impose warnings, suspension or even ejection from the group to any member who is discovered to be involved in unlawful, questionable activities! Our vests are also in dedication of the metal life style and are adorned by patches of bands that we as individuals respect and love as well as keeping the tradition of the early metal life style of wearing “kuttens” which are denim and leather vests worn by heavy metal fans as a badge of honor and a devotion to metal and it’s sub-culture. It is the globally recognized uniform of a metal-life styler since the mid to late 1970s.
*A kutte (plural: kutten) is a type of vest commonly referred to in extreme metal subcultures as a "battle jacket". It originated in the biker subculture, and has found popularity in the punk subculture, especially in the street punk and Anarchist crust punk scenes. Metalhead kutten are popular in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and thrash metal scenes. The kutten of the biker, metal and punk subcultures differ in how the garment itself is prepared, what decorations are applied, and how this is done.
The word "kutte" is a loanword from the German term Kutte; this references both the cut-off sleeves as well as, tongue-in-cheek, the religious habit of a Christian monk (also called Kutte in German). They are often adorned with patches, badges and painted artwork that display motorcycle club affiliations, band names, political affiliations and beliefs.
Kutten were originally made from denim jeans jackets, with their sleeves removed or cut very short. In the case of many-pocketed jackets, sometimes pockets have been cut away to gain more space for patches. Some wearers have created new internal pockets with denim fabric from old jeans. Kutten in the 1980s were almost always blue denim. Thrash metal fans favored heavily washed denim, while members of one British motorcycle club bleached theirs until they were almost white. From the mid to late 1990s, some punks and metalheads have worn multi-pocketed hunting or fishing vests, both in plain colors and camouflage patterns, and leather kutten – always popular with metalheads & punks – have also found widespread acceptance among bikers in recent decades.
In metal
Kutten in the heavy metal scene are oftentimes adorned with patches representing a particular Heavy Metal Clubs or H.M.C. As well as logos and album covers of bands, ranging in size from small square patches to large patches that fill the back panel of the vest. Patches are the main decoration, however, some Heavy Metal kutten have studs on them, particularly for fans of crossover hardcore-metal bands such as mid-1980s- era Discharge or of thrash metal.
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