Wayne Static

Wayne Static

Wayne Static in 2005
Background information
Birth name Wayne Richard Wells
Also known as Wayne Static, The King of Evil Disco
Born (1965-11-04)November 4, 1965
Muskegon, Michigan, U.S.
Died November 1, 2014(2014-11-01) (aged 48)
Landers, California, U.S.
Genres Industrial metal, nu metal,[1] alternative metal, groove metal, industrial rock
Instruments Vocals, guitar, keyboards, programmer
Years active 1977–2014
Labels Warner Bros, Reprise, Dirthouse Records
Associated acts Static-X, Pighammer, Deep Blue Dream, Pigface
Notable instruments
ESP Signature model
Epiphone Static Flying V
Dean Guitars

Wayne Richard Wells[2] (November 4, 1965 – November 1, 2014), known professionally as Wayne Static, was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist and music sequencer for metal band Static-X. He released his only solo studio album, Pighammer, on October 4, 2011.

Early life

Wayne was born in Muskegon, Michigan, to Richard and Darlene Wells.[3][4][5][6][7]

He grew up in Shelby, Michigan before moving to Chicago, Illinois and California. He was three years old when he received his first toy guitar. His parents decided at age seven to get him his first real guitar, an S12 beginner model. He was given lessons, which paid off a year later when he won a talent contest playing "Skip to My Lou".[8][9] He later played in his first band at the age of 12 and decided he wanted to be a musician. In high school, he played in a band for the dances with classmates.[10] He attended Shelby High School and had summer jobs which included working as an asparagus picker and in a cherry canning factory.[11]

Career

After moving to Chicago, Wells created the band Deep Blue Dream in 1987 with Ken Jay, bass player Eric Harris, and Billy Corgan.[12] The group was short lived as they relocated to California and Static-X was formed along with Tony Campos and Koichi Fukuda.[13]

Static was recognizable for his unusual hairstyle; his hair was held up in a vertical position, a process that took about 20 minutes to complete. He was also known for his signature "chintail" beard.

Static announced in July 2007 that he would begin a side project, Pighammer,[14] but in a December 2007 interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com, Static stated: "The Pighammer thing will happen when I have time. At the moment though, Static-X will remain my main priority." Static appears on the cover of the 2009 Static-X release, Cult of Static.

His solo album Pighammer was released on October 4, 2011.[15] As part of his Pighammer solo-project,[16] Static formed a new line-up consisting of Brent Ashley on bass, Sean Davidson on drums, and Ashes on guitar. In 2012, this line-up went under the name Static-X for the Noise Revolution tour. However, in October 2012, the remainder of the tour was cancelled due to Static requiring medical treatment.

In an interview done on November 26, 2013, it was confirmed that Static-X disbanded on June 2013. According to Static, the disputes between himself and the band's former bassist Tony Campos over the rights to the band name had gone too far, forcing him to disband the four-piece.[17]

He had been set to play a co-headlining tour in the US with Powerman 5000 in November 2014 with American Head Charge supporting them.[18]

Personal life

Static was an atheist and pescatarian.[19][20] After a brief courtship,[21][22] he married adult film actress Tera Wray in Las Vegas on January 10, 2008.[23][24] They lived in Joshua Tree, California. Static appeared as a mystery guest on an adult film Wray hosted called Radium Vol 2.[25]

On January 13, 2016, Static's widow, Tera Wray, died in her friend's Joshua Tree, California apartment from an apparent suicide. Her body was discovered January 14, 2016.[26]

Death

Static died on November 1, 2014 in Landers, California, three days before his 49th birthday.[27] He had consumed half of an oxycodone pill as well as alcohol that morning before going to bed with his wife Tera Wray. She woke up later that day to find that he had died in his sleep.[28] His family issued a statement stating that rumors of his death being drug-related were false, noting that he and Wray had stopped using illicit drugs in 2009. However, an autopsy later confirmed that Static had died of multiple drug toxicity, consisting of oxycodone, hydromorphone, alprazolam and alcohol, though the report also noted that years of past "chronic prescription drug and alcohol abuse" was a contributing factor.[28]

Former Static-X members Koichi Fukuda and Tony Campos paid tribute to Static.[29] Static was cremated in California. A memorial rock show followed in Los Angeles,[30] and a family service followed in Kentucky.[31][32][33]

Discography

Solo

Studio albums
Year Album Chart peaks
US

[34]

 US Rock US Ind. US Hard Rock
2011 Pighammer
  • Released: October 4, 2011
  • Label: Dirthouse
  • Formats: CD, DI
 97 22 16 7
Singles

Static-X

Main article: Static-X discography

Collaborations

Appearances

References

  1. ↑ "Static-X frontman Wayne Static dies at 48". Telegraph. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  2. ↑ It has been suggested that Wayne's birthname was "Wayne Richard Myaard" but there is no evidence to support the claim. (e.g. zero hits on Google.)
  3. ↑ Wayne Static Bio, IMDb.com; retrieved January 1, 2008.
  4. ↑ Wayne Static Bio, FoxyTunes.com, retrieved January 1, 2008
  5. ↑ "Static-X to perform Wednesday", Deseret News (Salt Lake City), June 17, 2005, retrieved January 1, 2008.
  6. ↑ Note that there are other sources which quote other birth years (usually 1970 and 1975), but Mr Static himself has confirmed on his blog that he was born in 1965.
  7. ↑ from interview: "What's your favorite song from record Machine? Wayne: Probably the last song "December"... I actually wrote that in 1983. I was in college at Western Michigan University. It was a very cold day in December. I had a half an hour between classes of time to kill. I went to this little park I used to go to in order to studio, but it was freezing that day. I sat down and wrote the lyrics on this freezing park bench in December. I used to perform that song with an acoustic guitar, because I used to play acoustic music before I turned into the evil disco thing I am. I reinvented that song for Wisconsin Death Trip."
  8. ↑ "Wayne Static - obituary". The Telegraph. 8 November 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  9. ↑ King, Valerie (1 May 2014). "XSTATIC TO BE WAYNE STATIC'S MOM!". Rock Revolt Magazine. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  10. ↑ Jeff Kerby (January 22, 2004). "Kerby's Exclusive Interview with Static-X Vocalist Wayne Static". KNAC. Retrieved November 5, 2007.
  11. ↑ Spence D. (April 20, 2000). "Static X: An IGN Classic Interview". Livewire. Retrieved November 4, 2007.
  12. ↑ Colin Joyce (November 2, 2014). "Wayne Static, Former Static-X Frontman, Has Died at 48". Spin.com.
  13. ↑ "Iconofan Biography". Iconofan. Retrieved November 8, 2007.
  14. ↑ Travis Hay (July 20, 2007). "Static-X: The Ear Candy Interview". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved November 18, 2007.
  15. ↑ "Static-X Frontman To Release Solo Debut In October". Blabbermouth.net. August 4, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Revolver Golden Gods Wayne Static Interview". Youtube.com. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Interview with Wayne Static". LA Music Blog. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  18. ↑ Bowar, Chad. "Wayne Static + Powerman 5000 team up for fall 2014 co-headlining tour". Loudwire.com. Loudwire. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Creating some waves with Static-X". IGN. November 14, 2003. Retrieved November 5, 2007.
  20. ↑ "Famous Vegetarians". happycow.com. November 10, 2007. Retrieved November 18, 2007.
  21. ↑ "Society 1 Interview with Matt Zane which mentions that Tera and Wayne are dating". The Gauntlet. October 22, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
  22. ↑ On his blog on Nov 9, 2007, Mr Static states: "I met Tera Wray during Ozzfest and we have been together since then."
  23. ↑ David Sullivan (January 17, 2008). "Tera Wray Weds Static-X Frontman". AVN. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  24. ↑ The article "Wayne Static Gets Hitched to Adult Starlet", January 14, 2008, states: "The pair tied the knot in Las Vegas before the AVN Awards which took place on Saturday, Jan 12, 2008"
  25. ↑ "Platinum Selling Mystery Artist Guests On Radium 2 and Theme Song". The Gauntlet. Retrieved April 8, 2008.
  26. ↑ "WAYNE STATIC's Widow TERA WRAY STATIC Found Dead". Blabbermouth. January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  27. ↑ "STATIC-X Frontman WAYNE STATIC Dead At 48". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  28. 1 2 "Wayne Static cause of death revealed". Alternative Press. March 13, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Static-X Tony Campos Koichi Fukuda pay tribute Wayne Static". Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Ill Nino's Cristian Machado, Dave Navarro + More Rock Wayne Static Memorial Show". loudwire.com. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  31. ↑ Crane, Matt (November 3, 2014). "More details emerge on the death of Wayne Static". Alternative Press.
  32. ↑ "Press Release: Wayne Static Died in His Sleep, Drugs Not Involved". Metal Sucks. November 2, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Obituary: Wayne Richard Wells". Muskegon Chronicle. November 22, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Wayne Static Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
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