Scott Weiland Passes Away at 48

Former Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland has passed away. He was 48 years old.

News of Weiland’s death began to circulate late Thursday evening (Dec.3), when Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro posted a now-deleted message on Twitter.”Our friend Scott Weiland has died,” wrote the musician. While a lot of times these things end up being hoaxes, Weiland’s passing turned out to be true.

Weiland’s death was confirmed by his manager Tom Vitorino and the musician’s wife, Jamie Weiland, who told The Los Angeles Time, “I can’t deal with this right now. It’s true.”

On the musician’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, a short message was posted confirming the saddening news as well. “Scott Weiland, best known as the lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts. At this time we ask that the privacy of Scott’s family be respected.”

According to Billboard, the Bloomington, MN Police Department issued a statement at 11:15PM PT detailing the events of the evening. According to the statement, on Dec. 3 at 8:22PM, officers responded to a report of an unresponsive adult male in a recreational motor vehicle located in the 2200 block of Killebrew Drive. “Officers arrived and determined the adult male was deceased.” At the time, the identity of the deceased was not released. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office assured that they will continue to investigate the death and will provide updates on the matter.

Weiland was in Minnesota on tour with his latest group, Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts. The band was scheduled to perform at the Medina Ballroom in Hamel, MN Thursday evening. According to Medina Entertainment Center, the concert had been canceled and refunds were to be issued. No reason was given for the cancellation at the time.

Chevelle Update Fans on Friday Night Tragedy

It’s been several days since tragedy occurred during a Chevelle show in Chicago and now the band have formally released a statement about the incident.

For those not familiar with the horrific incident, this past Friday (May 22), Chevelle were playing at the Aragon Ballroom in their hometown when a 24-year-old man fell from a catwalk and was impaled through the chest upon landing.

At the time, the band had posted a message of Facebook hoping they would have a speedy recovery, even though their set had been cut short, much to the displeasure of a several naysayers in the crowd.

Today, the band posted a second post on Facebook addressing the incident that happened. Read their full post below.

“To our fans, as you may or may not have heard, an extremely unfortunate event occurred at our show in Chicago Friday night.

We were asked by the police to stop our set so that the authorities could tend to an injured fan. Once the severity of the accident was determined, the authorities cleared out the venue to give them time to investigate. We want to thank our Chicago fans for their respect of the authorities and for understanding that these decisions made by the authorities were out of our control. We love our fans in Chicago and while there was no question that the show would be cut short in light of this tragic event, we will be sure to play for you all again as soon as possible.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Chevelle fan Kyle Kirchoff and at this time we ask that you all keep Kyle and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

S.P.D.”

After the fall, first responders quickly attended to Kirchoff rushing him to Weiss Memorial Hospital where 30 minutes after his arrival he was pronounced dead.

At the time of the original story, officials were still investigating what happened and police had said that foul play was not being suggested.

Man Dies During Chevelle Show

Over the weekend, a 24-year-old man lost his life during a Chevelle concert.

The band was in the middle of their set Friday night (May 22) at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom when Kyle Kirchoff, from Hanover Park, fell from a restricted catwalk and was impaled in his chest upon landing.

The band’s set was cut short as first responders made their way to the injured. He was taken Weiss Memorial Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Chevelle quickly took to their Facebook page to explain what led to them having to shorten the set and wished the injured a speedy recovering. We’re assuming it was posted before Kirchoff was officially pronounced dead at the hospital.

The show was not only the band’s final co-headlining tour date with The Used and Marmozets, but it was also their hometown show; Chevelle are from Grayslake, a suburb of Chicago.

While there has been no official cause of death, police are currently investigating the incident though it appears foul play is not being suggested.

Wayne Static Cause of Death Confirmed

Months after the death of former Static-X frontman Wayne Static (Wayne Richard Wells), the official cause of death has been revealed.

According to a recently released coroner’s report, obtained by Blabbermouth, the cause of death was due to a mix of prescription drugs and alcohol and has been listed as “mixed prescription drug (oxycodone, hydromorphone, alprazolam) with alcohol toxicity, hours, due to chronic prescription drug and alcohol abuse, years.”

Initially, Wells’ publicist and widow, Tera Wray, had claimed his death was not caused by drugs, but tests have shown otherwise.

The report states Wells had taken Oxycoden which was prescribed to his wife as well as an unknown amount of alcohol before going to bed at 7:00 a.m. on the day of his death. The hourly timeline from the coroner confirms the timeline Wells’ widow had given officials.

“On November 1, at approximately 0700 hours, [Wayne] and his wife went to bed. His wife stated that just prior to going to bed, he crushed one-half of a 30 mg oxycodone pill and consumed it. The oxycodone had been prescribed to his wife. He also drank an unknown amount of alcohol. His wife awoke at around 1530 hours. She found the decedent dead in the bed and called 911 at 1547 hours. Paramedics arrived and confirmed death at 1600 hours, noting rigor mortis and lividity. There was no evidence of foul play or any indication a struggle had taken place.”

According to Wells’ mother, he was a self-admitted alcoholic and had been battling the bottle for the past two years. Both his mother and widow had said he was not suicidal at the time of his death.

Wells’ passed away on Nov. 1, just three days shy of his 49 birthday on Nov. 4.

Multiple Lawsuits Filed Against SXSW

South By Southwest is supposed to be a time to let loose and enjoy music, films, and the interactive conferences that are held, but this year’s festivities took a turn for the worse when a drunk idiot tried to evade police at a D.U.I. checkpoint which resulted in him killing several people and injuring dozens more.

Now, almost a year after the horrific incident took place, seven lawsuit have been filed again SXSW by the families of those killed in the fatal crash that took place in the early hours of March 13, 2014 on Red River, according to the Associated Press.

The wrongful death lawsuit have been filed in both federal and Texas state court.

But, the festival and their private companies, SXSW Holdings INC. and SXSW LLC aren’t the only ones being named in the suits, the traffic consulting firm, Traffic Design Consultants, LLC and the person who headed the project, Patrick Lowe, have also been named.

One of the suits claims that the tragedy was “foreseeable and predictable” and that all those involved, especially the festival, ignored safety regulations and industry standards by not using “rigid barriers.”

“A festival organizer or traffic design consultant of ordinary intelligence would have anticipated danger” cites one of the lawsuits.

They also claim that the festival and everyone involved should have anticipated that something would happen due to all the excessive alcohol consumption that was going on. The suit even cited that Austin is the “number one for alcohol consumption in Texas.”

But, it sill does not end there. The lawsuit also says that the festival’s Right-Of-Way permit puts them in “legal possession of the street where the crash occurred.”

“The only way to force a private company like South by Southwest to take action in the future is to hold them accountable for their failures in the past,” states Scott Hendler, the attorney for one of the families.

“Otherwise, there’s no incentive for them to do anything different.”

Lizzy Plug, the wife of one of the first victim’s identified as Steven Craenmehr mirrored her attorney’s sentiment.

“South by Southwest is accountable for this tragedy, in my thoughts.”

In the response to the lawsuit SXSW have released the following statement:

“What happened on Red River was a terrible tragedy, caused by Rashad Owen’s utter disregard of human life. Our hearts continue to ache for those injured and the families of those who lost their lives. We look forward to his prosecution for his awful crimes.”

In September, a report sanctioned by SXSW done by the city of Austin revealed that crowd management issues including traffic congestion attributed to the crash.

The report also revealed that the city might also have some blame because of the overcrowding of venues and the high consumption of alcohol compromised the

Due to the report, the festival has already planned to minimize the amount of unofficial event surrounding them including the FADER Fort and the Hype Hotel. As of now, SXSW is asking for the city to limit the amount of permits distributed for events that require temporary permits.

As for the man behind all of this tragedy, Rashad Owens, he is currently in jail on capital murder charges. He is also being sued by the families.

Static-X Frontman Passes Away at 48

Fans of Static-X were hit with some hard news late last night when it was confirmed that frontman Wayne Static (Wayne Richard Wells) has passed away. The singer was only 48 years old.

The news was confirmed directly by Well’s publicists at FiXT Publicity. The metal singer leaves behind a wife, Tera Wray, who he married in January 2008.

As of now, a slew of artists have taken to Twitter to write their condolences including members of Papa Roach, System of a Down, Chevelle, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Navarro and many more.

At the present time the cause of death has not been released. Wells was scheduled to hit the road with POWERMAN 5000 and Drowning Pool on a month-long United States tour beginning Nov. 6 in Waterloo, IA and then next year head across the pond to tour England and Russia.

Read some of the tweets from friends of Wells below:

Jacoby Shaddix (PAPA ROACH): “RIP Wayne…. This is so sad. Too many musicians are dying from overdoses. I’m serious, addiction is real and takes fools out. No one is invincible. So glad I live a sober life today. The number of friends that I have lost to addiction is crazy. If you are struggling with addiction, get some help before it’s too late. I know drugs and partying are part of the ‘rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle,’ but damn, how many more gotta die??? Fuck the lifestyle, I want life!!!! See you on the other side, Wayne….”

Billy Corgan (SMASHING PUMPKINS): “I am shocked to hear that Wayne Wells (Wayne Static) has passed away. I played with him in his first band, DEEP BLUE DREAM, in 1987/88. He was a real gentleman, and loved music (and KISS, Ace in particular). Even had his the hood of his car painted with the KISS logo.”

Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR): “I am absolutely devastated to hear about Wayne Static‘s death. A good man and a good friend. My thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Ozzy Osbourne: “Very sad to hear of Wayne Static‘s passing. Spent a lot of time together on Ozzfest tours. A tragic loss. Love to his family/friends.”

Chris Kael (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH): “Thoughts go out to the friends and family of Wayne Static. May his life inspire others to make a change in their own lives — today.”

Clint Lowery (SEVENDUST): “My heart goes out to the family and loved ones of Wayne Static. He created some cool music with his time on earth. Stay safe out there y’all.”

Aaron Lewis (STAIND): “My heart goes out to Wayne‘s family. He was my friend. Many shows and tours together. I’m stunned and shocked. RIP my dear friend #speechless”

Jonathan Davis (KORN): “Rest in peace, Wayne. I’m speechless right now. I’m losing too many of my friends. I’ll see you on the other side, brother.”

Johnny Kelly (DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE, KILL DEVIL HILL): “Very sad to hear that Wayne Static passed away. Always a nice guy. Gone too soon.”

John 5 (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON): “Very saddened to hear that Wayne Static has passed away in his sleep. I performed with Wayne for our friend Nancy Sayle‘s ‘Rock Against MS’ show in 2013 and worked with him for his track ‘Cannibal’ in 2007. My thoughts are with his wife and family and friends.”

Brian Fair (SHADOWS FALL): “Saddened by the news of Wayne Static‘s passing. Too many people I have toured with have been dying way too young. RIP.”

Cristina Scabbia (LACUNA COIL): “Shocked. Waking up with the horrific news someone you knew died is the worst feeling in the world… R.I.P. Wayne.”

Fred Durst (LIMP BIZKIT): “RIP Wayne Richard Wells. His contributions are timeless.”

Jeremy Spencer (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH): “What a shame. R.I.P. Wayne Static.”

Jason Hook (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH): “So sad. Wayne Static of STATIC-X just passed away. RIP brother.”

David Ellefson (MEGADETH): “This is just horribly sad news. I have such great memories of our tours together over the years. Wayne was truly an originator, innovator and milestone contributor to metal music. My condolences to the STATIC-X organization and family.”

Morgan Rose (SEVENDUST): “Crushed to hear the news of Wayne Static passing away. We played many shows together. Horrible news. RIP Wayne.”

David Draiman (DISTURBED): “Goodbye old friend.”

DJ Ashba (GUNS N’ ROSES, SIXX: A.M.): “You will truly be missed. God bless your family, friends and fans in this moment of sadness.”

Shawn Drover (MEGADETH): “Sad to hear of Wayne Static‘s passing. Way too young… Such a shame.”

Pete Loeffler (CHEVELLE): “Just heard about Wayne Static passing away. Sad news indeed. We played with STATIC-X a hell of a lot over the years. RIP bro.”

Dave Navarro (JANE’S ADDICTION): “RIP WAYNE STATIC”

Shavo Odadjian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN): “REST IN PEACE BROTHER!!”

Craig Aaronson (A&R for Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance, and More) Passed Away

Normally, hearing that someone from a record label passed away doesn’t really make headlines, but sometimes that person played a key role in discovering some of your favorite bands. In news that feels like a dagger to the heart, the A&R guy responsible for discovering many of the bands that helped shape our music taste and love of music, passed away.

According to several music publications including Billboard and Alternative Press, Craig Aaronson famed A&R guy from Warner Bros., passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Many artists, including those that he played a key role in discovering, have already taken to Twitter to express their condolences. Here are just some of the ones that we have found on our Twitter feed with more coming as the day progresses.

Rest in peace Craig. You gave us fire, hope, and love. Thank you.

— the spooky soup (@gerardway) October 30, 2014

News of a death is always heavy. I'm taking the rest of the night off y'all. Love the ones you got.

— Laura Jane Grace (@LauraJaneGrace) October 30, 2014

RIP Craig Aaronson. So sad. He was a great friend who taught me alot and played a huge part in my career.

— Fred Mascherino (@thecolorfred) October 30, 2014

RIP to the nicest, most caring person I have ever met! Even through the end you lived your life to the fullest! See you again Craig Aaronson

— Kellin Quinn (@Kellinquinn) October 30, 2014

RIP Craig Aaronson – One of the few who believed. Thank you for giving me the confidence & opportunity to follow my dreams.

— Craig Owens (@craigowens) October 30, 2014

Just received heartbreaking news. The world lost a visionary man today whom I owe my career to! So sad.. Signing off for now RIP C. Aaronson

— Branden Steineckert (@801PUNX) October 30, 2014

Craig Aaronson RIP

— John Feldmann (@JohnFeldy) October 29, 2014

View this post on Instagram

It's with great sadness in our hearts that we write this message to you all. An integral part of our A7X family has passed away. Craig Aaronson was one of the driving forces behind our decision to sign with Warner Brothers Records back in 2004 along with Tom Whalley and Andy Olyphant. We had heard horror stories about independent bands signing with major labels so when we first met Craig we were skeptical. We ended up trusting him and Warner Brothers Records and in the end we are glad that we did. Craig had not only been a personal friend to us through the years, but also helped spearhead many of the bands successes, including allowing us to have complete creative control throughout all of our albums. No matter what we handed into the label he would get behind it and go to work. Our manager Larry Jacobson has always said working with Craig was like working with a partner, always agreeable even when you disagreed, and because of that, A7X and WBR got so many good things done together. A couple of years ago Craig left Warner Brothers to do other things, we were saddened by his decision but realized he needed to move on. A few months later we were informed that Craig had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. While on chemo Craig still made it out to our Hail to the King album release show in Los Angeles earlier this year. We were all blown away by his dedication and will to live. Sadly, yesterday he lost the battle against cancer. He is survived by an amazing wife and kids. We will always be grateful to Craig and everything he has done for us. He has done the same for many other countless bands and without a doubt will be sorely missed. Thank you for everything Craig. Love A7X P.S. Life is too short, spend some extra time with the ones you love today.

A post shared by Avenged Sevenfold (@avengedsevenfold) on Oct 30, 2014 at 9:24am PDT

Aaronson was most well-know for bringing bands such as My Chemical Romance, The Used, Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, Avenged Sevenfold, Against Me! and more to the label and helping them reach success.

If anyone needs an example of Aaronson’s enthusiasm for the bands he helped discover and love of his job, the perfect example can be found on MCR’s first DVD, Life on the Murder Scene where we see Aaronson listening to some new tracks the band were working on at the time and how passionately excited he got while listening to them.

Aaronson kicked off his lengthy resume of successful bands by signing Jimmy Eat World back in 1995 to Capitol before leaving and getting his job at Warner Bros. Jimmy Eat World recently wrote about that and how when they had no money, Aaronson had let them sleep in his house.

All we can say is thank you very much for discovering those bands and we owe you a lot, Craig. You had a role in helping shape who we are today.

Tyson Stevens’ Cause of Death Reportedly Revealed

Scary Kids Scaring Kids fans were hit with horrible news early this week when it was confirmed that former frontman Tyson Stevens had passed away.

What began as a rumor on Twitter with people sharing their condolences on social media was quickly confirmed by Stevens’ new band, Coma Prevails.

Coma Prevail posted on Facebook that they would reveal what led to Stevens’ death, but out of respect for the family, they would do so at a later time.

Unlike the band and several media outlets, TMZ have already gotten the cause of death or at least what is believed to be the cause of death.

According to the gossip site, Stevens’ mother and girlfriend, who found him on Monday in his Tuscan home, told cops that his death was caused by a drug overdose, possible heroin though he had recently been clean.

Read the full statement from TMZ below:

“Scary Kids Scaring Kids singer Tyson Stevens died from a drug overdose, possibly heroin … that’s what his mom and girlfriend told cops. 

Stevens died Monday and the official cause of death is unknown. But law enforcement sources tell TMZ … there’s smoke. The girlfriend and mom say Stevens had struggled with heroin addiction for a long time, although he was recently clean.

Our sources say Stevens’ body had “old track marks” that had scabbed on his inner right ankle. We’re told there was no heroin in the house where he died, but cops did find weed and pipes.

The toxicology report should reveal precise cause of death. It’s due in a few weeks.”

Even though TMZ is usually right on when it comes to these kinds of things, all we could truly do, is wait for the toxicology report to be released which like the report says, can take up to a few weeks.

Scary Kids Scaring Kids’ Tyson Stevens Passes Away

Last night, sad news was reported that Scary Kids Scaring Kids frontman Tyson Stevens had passed away.

Up until this morning, there was no confirmation about the singer’s passing, but Coma Prevail, Steven’s new band, confirmed the sad news in a post on Facebook.

On the social media account, Coma Prevail wrote: “Unfortunately the rumors are true. Out of respect for the family we will post details soon. Thank you.”

While the confirmation had not been made until hours after the headline hit the web, many tweets had begun to populate online from friends of the band and individuals showing their respect for Stevens. According to a source who spoke with Alternative Press, Stevens was found dead in his home in Tucson, but like Coma Prevail wrote, out of respect, we will wait for a confirmation from them and the family.

Scary Kids Scaring Kids called it a day back in 2009 when all members decided, mutually, that the band has run its course.

In honor of Stevens and this sad turn of events, here’s one of our favorite songs from Scary Kids Scaring Kids that would have been on several of our high school mixtapes (mixed CDs?).

Late GWAR Frontman Laid to Rest in Viking Style

It has been five months since GWAR lost founding member, Dave Brockie aka Oderus Urungus, but during the band’s annual GWAR-B-Q, the band set Urungus to reset the only way to set such a character to rest, with a Viking funeral.

In tradition with the ancient Norse custom, Brockie’s Oderus Urungus costume was laid out in a boat filled with offerings, launched into Hadad’s Lake in Richmond, VA and set on fire with a flaming arrow.

Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe had the honor or reciting the eulogy at the event which paid tribute to the late frontman and final original member of the metal band. In his speech, Blythe wrote about what a bog personality Brockie was, so big that he was “he only motherfucker I know who has to get put away twice.”

You can read his full eulogy below and watch some videos taken at the Viking funeral/ GWAR-B-Q.

“Tonight we sent Oderus home in a fitting manner at the public memorial for Dave Brockie. A blazing Viking ship with Oderus laid out in it, the cuttlefish pointing proudly straight up. Watching my friend Dave’s costume go up in flames in front of a thousand fans was so much more intense for me than the private memorial for friends & family we had April Fool’s Day. I spoke at both of them, as GWAR asked me to, & both times as I spoke I was sad.

But watching his alter-ego burn tore me up way more than the first memorial, maybe because there was Dave, the human who was my friend who just “left us”- I never saw his body- & then there was Oderus, who was something entirely else. To watch his stage gear burn was like watching part of my life literally go up in flames. I was sobbing my eyes out as I took this photo. It was just a super-intense moment. Very beautiful, but overwhelming. Fly free, Oderus- you are missed.”

Brockie passed away back in March. His body was discovered by his roommate that found him unresponsive. At the time, the police had said that there was no foul play involved, but it had been later revealed that Brockie had died from an accidental heroin overdose. Brockie was 50.

In memory of their former frontman, the rest of GWAR went on to crate the Dave Brockie Foundation with the assistance of their fans.