Tag: "death"

Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly, one half of popular early ’90s group Kriss Kross, has passed away. He was 34.

Kelly was found unresponsive at his Atlanta-area home, and later died at Atlanta Medical Center on Wednesday, May 1. No cause of death has been revealed at this time, but from what we can gather there does not appear to be any hint of foul play.

The mother of the deceased and the So So Def family issued this statement on Thusrday morning:

“It is with deep sadness that we announce that our beloved Chris Kelly has passed away on May 1. To millions of fans worldwide, he was the trendsetting, backwards pants-wearing one-half of Kris Kross who loved making music. But to us, he was just Chris – the kind, generous and fun-loving life of the party. Though he was only with us a short time, we feel blessed to have been able to share some incredible moments with him. His legacy will live on through his music, and we will forever love him.”

Kriss Kross had a few hits, but none were as big as “Jump.” Click below to enjoy that classic one more time. Continue reading ‘Kris Kross’ Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly Dies at 34′

News of the passing of Deftones‘ bassist Chi Cheng has sent waves of sadness through the entertainment industry. Though Chi was suffering for the last few years, his absence from this world makes things dimmer for countless family, friends, and fans around the world. After taking some time to grieve themselves, Deftones have come forward with a message for fan’s regarding Chi’s passing:

“There are so many things I can say, and yet at this moment, none of it matters or compares to the loss everyone feels. There will be a hole in our lives where Chi once was. But that will be filled everyday with all of our love and memories we all have in our heart. He will always be here because of love. It’s time we all give our love and best, and do our best to love. Especially ourselves, Chi would want that for everyone. All our healing will begin with love. I love you, Chi.

Stephen, for Deftones”

Rest in peace, Chi. You will be missed.

Anyone familiar with the work of Tupac Shakur is already well aware of his posthumous career. In fact, Tupac (or rather, his estate) has released more albums featuring new material after his death than any other musician in history, and it seems we may soon have even more to enjoy.

Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, has released a new statement vowing to release the fallen rapper’s “entire body of work” in order to give a new generation a chance to experience the rapper’s unheard material. She is the head of her late son’s estate, and recently handed over the management of that estate to Jampol Artist Management (JAM). During this transition, Afeni shed light on plans to release material even die hard fans have yet to hear. Her statement reads: Continue reading ‘Tupac Shakur’s Mother Vows To Release His “Entire Body Of Work”’

Tragic news this morning, as we have recently learned Country songstress Mindy McCready died yesterday at the age of 37.

McCready, known mostly for her strong of hits in the mid-90s, reportedly shot and killed herself last night at her Arkansas home; her body was found on her front porch by local authorities. She is survived by two children, Zander and Zayne.

More information on McCready’s death can be found on PopDust.

Losing a member of the music community at any age is hard, especially when there is children involved. Please join us in honoring McCready’s career by clicking below and enjoy her hit, “Guys Do It All The Time.” Continue reading ‘R.I.P. Country Star Mindy McCready’

Just when we all thought it was over, it turns out Randy Blythe, frontman for the metal band Lamb Of God, is still being indicted on manslaughter charges for the 2010 incident in the Czech Republic, which resulted in the death of a young man at the band’s show. Blythe was originally arrested last summer when the band returned for another tour in the country. He spent over 5 weeks in prison before being let go on bail and returning to the U.S.

However, upon his return, the singer released a public statement saying, “I consider the charge leveled against me ludicrous and without qualification, [but] my opinion makes no difference in this matter. The charge exists, and for the family of this young man, questions remain…It would be both irresponsible and immoral for me not to return to Prague if I am summoned.”

Now it looks like that time has come, and the family will continue to press charges. Thus, true to his word, Blythe will return to the Czech Republic to go on trial, where, if found guilty, he could face 5-10 years in prison.

If you like Lamb Of God, then you might also like OurStage’s own Neroxx.

More Like This:

Randy Blythe Releases Statement After Prague Incarceration
Bands Behind Bars
Slipknot Bassist’s Doctor Charged With 8 Cases Of Manslaughter

Prepare yourselves for the best video of the year. Experimental indie artist Sufjan Stevens has a new video for his song “Mr. Frosty Man” from his upcoming 58-track Silver & Gold Christmas box set. The footage is a full 2 minutes of complete claymation carnage, with zombies, brains, bloodshed, a heroic snowman, references to The Evil Dead, and an unfortunate Santa Claus. The song itself is a silly sloppy garage style romp of out-of-tune guitars and “whatever’s around” percussion, and like most Sufjan Stevens songs, it doesn’t seem to resemble anything else he’s made. The Silver & Gold box set will be released on November 13th. Check out the video for “Mr. Frosty Man” below.

If you like Sufjan Stevens, then you might also like OurStage’s own The Tiny Tin Hearts.

More Like This:

• Tiny Hearts, Big Ideas
• Download of the Week: Metermaids
• Riffs, Rants and Rumors: Getting Drunk and Stupid With Dots Will Echo

Paul Gray, the late bassist for masked metal band Slipknot, passed away in May of 2010 due to an overprescription of painkillers by a Des Moines, Iowa doctor named Daniel Baldi. Now, according to Rolling Stone, 50-year-old Baldi is being charged with eight counts of involuntary manslaughter from overprescription, including Gray’s death.

While Baldi has pleaded not guilty to every count, if convicted he may face “up to 16 years in prison.” This is not the first time the doctor has been accused of medical malpractice; three other previous “wrongful death suits” are being “included in the criminal charges” as well.

Gray, a founding member of Slipknot, struggled for years with an addiction to drugs, which makes Baldi’s decision to prescribe him high doses of narcotics that much more negligent in the eyes of the court. Today, the band released a statement on their Facebook page, which reads as follows:

“As the loss of our brother Paul Gray is still very fresh for us in the Slipknot family, this new development has us all in a state of anger and sadness. The fact that this person took advantage of our brother’s illness while he was in a position to help others has outraged everyone in our family. We can only hope that justice will be served so this can NEVER happen to anyone else ever again! Our thoughts go out to the families of the other victims. We plan to cooperate as much as we possibly can to ensure this tragedy is never repeated, and to make sure this man pays for what he has done.”

More Like This:

• Slipknot Announce “Knotfest,” Tease Lineup
• METAL MONDAY: WHY PEOPLE LIKE TO HATE SLIPKNOT

Let’s face it. We all love Halloween. Nothing can beat the joys of wearing funny costumes and stuffing ourselves with candy. But did you know that celebrating death is even more enjoyable when it is done the Latin way?

Every year on November 2, Mexicans celebrate “Día de Muertos” or “Day of the Dead.” Contrary to popular belief, this isn’t a gloomy holiday, but rather a festive and colorful event where Mexicans pay tribute to friends and family members who have passed away.

Here on OurStage, we are all about celebrating, so we picked our favorite death song in Spanish and have been playing it again and again. We are talking about “Amiga Muerte”, a piece by Mexican band Purpura Hechizo.

According to Purpura Hechizo, “Amiga Muerte” is a song that talks about the relationship between “a normal human being and the death.” The piece aims to spread the message that one must not reject death but rather embrace it and accept it. The song reminds us that, whether we like it or not, we are all going to die and will have to face “la muerte.”

Besides its profound lyrics, what we love the most about “Amiga Muerte” is the fact that we can all sing and dance to it as if we were chanting about something that is not death-related. We really dig how Purpura Hechizo can make such a gloomy theme a very pleasurable listening experience.

If you like “Amiga Muerte” you should try listening to other songs by Purpura Hechizo. We especially like “Te lo Advertí” and “Que es Mas Cruel.” We hope you enjoy this playlist and have an awesome Día de Muertos. Remember that death can be as fun and as good as a friend as you want her to be. ¡Provecho!

If you’re a long-time reader of the OurStage blog and/or Metal Mondays, you might remember our review of Draconic‘s From The Wrong Side Of The Aperture. The Serbian metallers are now back at it, working on a batch of new metal jams to please all of our ears. Draconic has been a bit quiet since the release of Aperture, so we thought we’d see what they’ve been up to. The bassist and one of the primary songwriters, David Galic, took some time out of his schedule to sit down answer any and all questions we had for him, including the band’s new song (which you can download for free below) and the current state of the metal scene in Belgrade.

OS: So, it’s been a little over two years since Aperture dropped, and your bio mentions two turbulent years for the band. Can you elaborate a bit on what’s been happening with the band since then?

DLG: Just annoying stuff that seems to be plaguing tons of bands these days. Instability in the line-up. Since metal is hardly a profitable thing to do these days, not too many people can commit to being in a band situation where you spend more money on it than you will ever make. So it was just a case of losing band members all the time. Our singer left as soon as the album came out pretty much, so that pretty much killed any momentum we had at that point. And then we had another singer that didn’t work out personality-wise, and a drummer that couldn’t commit and we had to let go because he basically ditched us three days before we were supposed to play to shows over a weekend to play for someone else who was going to pay him. So we just took a break and had to regroup.

Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: Catching Up With Draconic’

Have you ever been nerding it up about your favorite metal band, talking to someone much less versed than you in the world of metal,\ and see the blank stare on their face as you use words they don’t understand? I thought so, which is why I’m here to help. I’ve comprised  a very handy guide you can provide to all your friends that outlines the common terms associated with metal music. Nouns, verbs, titles, adjectives–you name it, I’m covering it. With no further ado, I give you the (somewhat) definitive metal glossary, presented neatly in alphabetical order.

Black – A genre of metal played by people obsessed with counter culture who wear black clothing almost exclusively. Notorious for being supposed Satanists and recording extraordinarily low quality albums. Solid chance anyone who makes it knows far too much about Norway, or actually resides there.

Average black metal musicians

Blackened – Any music referred to as “blackened” is really only intended to be labeled as “more evil” than the other bands in their main genre. Primary examples include blackened thrash metal and blackened death metal.

Breakdown – A tool used by -core bands in place of true musical transitions in their song.

Continue reading ‘Metal Monday: The (Somewhat) Definitive Metal Glossary’