The bands were shocked to discover that their warehouse has recently been broken into
You’d think that coronavirus lockdown is the safest period to be in when it comes to crime and law breaking. So did the members of Static-X and Dope, locking their tour gear in the shared warehouse for the stay-at-home time. However, two days ago, the musicians discovered it had been broken into, with $200,000 worth of touring equipment stolen.
The two bands have been touring together since last year and had many more dates locked for the rest of 2020. Now most of their tour items are gone, including drums, mics, backdrops and expensive audio gear. Static-X and Dope filed a police report with the LAPD to investigate the theft and were also advised to make the story public. This would stimulate small business owners and musicians to keep an eye on the safety of their equipment during the deceivingly quiet lockdown period.
In the official statement Static-X wrote:
“We want to encourage our community to keep a close eye on your property and on your facilities during this unprecedented time. We also ask for our fans to keep an eye out for the stolen items and maybe we can help the police find these people.”
The band is really inviting their fans to cooperate in every possible way. They’ve posted the full list of the stolen stuff on Static-X’s website, and it features a form where people can post information on the theft anonymously.
Dope’s Edsel Dope who shares the warehouse with Static-X, says: “This is tough one to swallow. Our bands are small businesses that have developed and refined our touring systems over years. The amount of time and effort that has gone into building out the tech and AV, the production alone is hard to quantify. It’s a lot of money.
“We own all of our own gear and have built our touring business through years of hard work and continuous investment back into ourselves.
“In the end, we recognise there are far worse things happening around the world. We want to send out positive vibes to everyone in this crazy time. Stay safe, protect yourself from all the threats, and take care of each other.
“We will learn from this and take the necessary steps to rebuild during this down time, while allowing ourselves to be a cautionary tale for others. Stay safe and see you soon.”
Let’s hope that Static-X and Dope’s touring plans will not get completely ruined by this massive theft. In the meantime, soon Static guys will release their new album Project Regeneration Volume 1 is due May 29, the first work since the band’s vocalist Wayne Static died in 2014.
The singer died after mixing Xanax and other powerful prescription drugs with alcohol, revealed the coroner’s report. The 48-year-old Wayne was found dead in his California home on November 1, 2014.
On Project Regeneration the reunited core lineup of Tony Campos, Ken Jay and Koichi Fukuda will not be joined by many guest vocalists, like they had planned initially. Instead, the band uncovered isolated vocal recordings by Wayne himself and made the decision to have his voice on most album tracks.
The first song ‘Hollow’ from the album, which dropped in February, was a big surprise to fans and took them to the Shadow-Zone-era of Static-X. If you’ve missed it, check it out below:
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