Jered Threatin has finally broken his silence since being outed as a con artist last month in the story of the year that all but broke the internet. In a new article on Rolling Stone, Threatin finally tells his side of the story… sort of. Much of the article is a recap of the story for those who haven’t come across it yet, but Jered offers some of his own perspective in his first interview post-outing.

He claims he needed to get out of his hometown of Moberly, MO at all costs, and blames his brother for not “pulling his weight” in the duo’s prior metal outfit, Saetith (for Scott’s differing thoughts on that issue, read our chat). There’s some cliched lines about a desire to make it big and an scrupulous dedication to practicing guitar.

We learn that Jered suffers from a mysterious condition that causes him to occasionally vomit up blood, and that Jered’s brush with mortality inspired him to take the next step to launch his musical career. “If you think you’re halfway to death, you’ll be like, ‘Let’s get this shit going fast,’” he says.

Predictably, Jered has not turned the mirror back on himself with regards to his music’s inability to catch on organically. “You hear people say it all the time: ‘With the Internet, it’s easy for people to get discovered.’ It’s actually the opposite.”

He proclaims himself a a rock and roll warrior, fighting for the future of the genre. “Fuck what other people think. I’m willing to do what it takes to try to bring rock back into the spotlight.”

He cites Andy Kaufman as an influence, as if his scheme to become famous was some kind of performance art rather than a last resort.

When asked whether he feels that he deceived his hired bandmates, he expresses little remorse, casting them as ungrateful for the exposure the saga brought them. “Do I feel bad that they feel bad?” he says. “Yes, I wish they would’ve looked at this from a media standpoint.”

Finally, Eames reveals that he plans to capitalize on his newfound exposure by writing another record and getting back out on the road as soon as he can, rolling with the “fake news” explanation as if it were the plan all along and he can easily repeat the formula. “Fake news is easy to manufacture.”

Ultimately I was hoping for a bit of a deeper dive with Jered in his first public interview — more pointed questions, a dive into his psychology — but that will need to wait for another time.

You can read the Rolling Stone piece here.