Arkuie Williams, administrator at the chief medical examiner’s office, said on June 3rd that Brockie’s cause of death was acute heroin toxicity.
The Grammy-nominated band Gwar was founded in 1984 and is known for its comically grotesque costumes, stage antics and vulgar lyrics.
Gwar released its latest album in 2013 and recently toured Australia and Japan.
Brockie remained a constant in the band, which has had a revolving door of members. In 2011, 34-year-old lead guitarist Cory Smoot was found dead on the band’s tour bus.
“After years of drinking alcohol, on April 3rd, 2014 my addiction finally caught up with me,” states Scorpions drummer James Kottak. “During a 5-hour flight from Ekaterinburg, Russia to Bahrain via Dubai, during which I consumed 5 or 6 glasses of wine. While at the airport in Dubai I approached an airline representative to check on status of my flight. The representative informed me that I was in the wrong place and I replied ‘WTF?!.’ The representative then called the police and reported that I was intoxicated (which I was) and that I made a lewd jester.”
One of the police officers recognized me as drummer of ‘The Scorpions’. When the police asked me to show my ID., I showed them the ‘Rock & Roll Forever’ tattoo on my back, instead of my actual ID, which was in my back pack my friend was carrying for me. Apparently, the police did not find this funny and I was charged with ‘Drinking Without a License’, for which I pleaded guilty and received a one-month sentence and a 2,000 Dirham (300 USD) fine. I was also charged with insulting Islam/Muslims by making a lewd jester for which I pleaded not guilty and did not actually do.
Upon returning to the United States on May 6th, I immediately reached out to Bob Forrest, an addiction specialist known for his work with musicians and Celebrity Rehab. I have been meeting with Bob on a regular basis. He has guided me to the MusiCares Organization, which provides musicians with help for mental health and addiction issues.
I am determined to come to grips with my alcoholism and am doing everything on a daily basis to beat this relentless disease. This entire incident caused me to realize that it is time to stop drinking once and for all so that I can become the father, musician, and friend that I know I can be.
I am glad to put this unfortunate incident behind me and move onward and upward with my life. I would like to send out a HUGE thank-you to my family, friends and fans around the world for their incredible loving support… you kick ass! I would also like to send a sincere apology from the bottom of my heart to everyone I have affected and look forward to seeing you all!!
With love, James Kottak – Tomorrow is a brand new day!”
In May, the Scorpions released their own statement part of which said “Whatever happened is totally out of our control and we don’t know any details about it at this point. Please understand, we will keep you posted.”
About to embark on an even crazier than normal point in my schedule as I am preparing to move in a week or so. Only going a few miles for a better neighborhood for my kids, but any move still SUCKS as you know if you’ve done it! I love my CDs and it’s still by far my favorite format, but having to move them right now has dropped the love affair down just a peg for the time being. I’ll do my best to provide updates here as I can but the month of June is going to be nuts to say the least. Please keep an eye on my appearance calendar on home page of this site and my Twitter and FB for more info as well.
If in Providence RI or Chicopee MA area I will be there this weekend with Don & Jim for live dates. Details on the home page. Again, none of the shows listed or appearances I do are TMS tapings. Books and merch available at all. Hope to see you all soon as the road schedule is always being added to as well.
An FYI about the concerts listed on this site for my NYC/NJ radio audience. They are all mostly NY/NJ area events because they are shows I am connected with locally through my radio show on my flagship station Q104.3. They are shows that advertise with me locally and I give tickets away for on the air locally as you know if you listen on Q. Soon those giveaways will be shifting to registering online through this site to win instead of calling the show. More details soon on this.
Lot of reaction to the Kiss HOF induction now that everyone has seen the broadcast. If you watched the video I shot from it that night you can see some of the Kiss speeches were edited, but not majorly. The sad part beyond the fact that they didn’t play is that the HOF will probably be the final time we ever see the original four on a stage together..
I’m told TMS will start taping again in the Fall. I’ll have more info on dates, location, number of shows, guests, etc, when we get closer and VH1C tells me. They make all the calls so all up to them. But we will not do new shows likely before October. I wish we did it EVERY week, but not up to me. More soon.
Thanks to all who have purchased my shirts and merch on this site and continue to buy my books as well. I truly appreciate your support!
This Spring Mark Slaughter released a new single, “\Never Givin’ Up, his first ever solo track outside of his multi-platinum band Slaughter, to rave reviews on radio stations across the country. With legendary music producer Michael Wagener mixing and mastering it, Mark played all instruments on the track with the only exception being drums that were tackled by Mark Goodin.
Picking up traction on the charts, the tune salutes the military and all who have served, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Red Circle Foundation that assists families of the US Special Operations Forces.
It’s available at Amazon, iTunes, and Google.
The band Slaughter sold more than five million records worldwide, with numerous Top 30 hits on the Billboard Charts with tunes such as “Fly To the Angels” and “Up All Night.” The band hit the road playing to stadiums and arenas, touring the world with bands such as KISS, Poison, and Ozzy Osbourne, and more.
This Spring Mark released a new single, “Never Givin’ Up,” his first ever solo track, to rave reviews on radio stations across the country. And with legendary music producer Michael Wagener Mixing and Mastering it, Mark played all instruments on the track with the only exception being drums that were tackled by Mark Goodin.
The tune salutes the military and all who have served, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Red Circle Foundation that assists families of the US Special Operations Forces.
Before the formation of his own group Slaughter, he fronted a local band Xcursion before joining the Vinnie Vincent Invasion in 1987, with a huge hit song Love Kills that appeared on the Nightmare On Elm Street 4 movie soundtrack in 1988. After that band disbanded in the late 1980s, two of its members, Dana Strum along with Mark, formed the group Slaughter.
Mark Slaughter was born in Las Vegas, Nevada on the 4th of July, and now makes his home in Nashville. He has worked as a voice-over actor and composes music for television, movies and sports outlets, with credits including music compositions for Fox Sports, along with voice over ventures in productions like Batman Beyond, Bloodsport, and Animaniacs.
Slaughter formed a new band, Scrap Metal, which consists of other platinum-selling singers such as Gunnar Nelson (Nelson), Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger) and Eric Martin (Mr. Big).
In addition to the Red Circle Foundation, Slaughter actively participates in charity work including with St. Jude’s hospital.
For more information about Mark Slaughter, please visit Mark’s facebook page.
New Jersey Thrash legends Overkill have been hard at work preparing for the release of their seventeenth LP, White Devil Armory. The band shot two videos over the weekend with esteemed director Kevin J. Custer. “Fantastic to have Kevin on board again, when he’s directing the direction is intense!” says frontman Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth.
This is the fourth video Custer has directed for the band, most notably Electric Rattlesnake from their previous LP The Electric Age. Blitz continues, “each time the prior results have been spot on, so our confidence is high for this shoot. From the directors eye to yours/ours, should be a killer!”
Overkill will release White Devil Armory on July 22nd via eOne Music in North America, and July 18th overseas via Nuclear Blast.
White Devil Armory track list:
1. Freedom Rings
2. Where There’s Smoke…
3. Pig
4. Amorist
5. Down To The Bone
6. Bitter Pill
7. King Of The Rat Bastards
8. Another Day To Die
9. It’s All Yours
10. In The Name
Rocklahoma, America’s biggest Memorial Day Weekend party, wrapped its 8th year with record-breaking attendance of over 60,000 during the three-day camping festival that features the top current active rock artists and classic bands.
Rocklahoma, presented by Bud Light, featured an all-star lineup with Kid Rock, Five Finger Death Punch, Staind, Twisted Sister, Deftones and many more from May 23rd-25th at “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds in Pryor, OK.
Rocklahoma MC Eddie Trunk, co-host of VH1’s That Metal Show said, “I’ve been honored to be a part of Rocklahoma as an MC every year since its inception in 2007. It is truly remarkable to see how this festival has grown and keeps getting bigger and better every year and is such a destination for rock fans from all over the world.”
Rocklahoma also received praise from the media. Here’s a sample of what the press had to say:
“While the three days of hard rock and heavy metal bring tens of thousands of people to this field in Pryor, it’s the rock community that keeps so many of them coming back year after year…the first thing people say when asked why they keep coming back: It’s the atmosphere. It’s the people, the hard rock and heavy metal community.”
–Jerry Wofford, Tulsa World, May 25, 2014
“Rocklahoma 2014 once again went off without a hitch and would leave a lasting legacy for all who were there.”
–Jennifer Reid, Stage Shottz Magazine, May 26, 2014
“Have you ever left a concert and after a couple of hours you felt like you do after eating Chinese food, you feel hungry because you want more? Rocklahoma 2014 was not Chinese food, it was a four course meal at a five star restaurant.”
–Jeremy “Jrock” Heuman, HeavyMetalICU.com, May 28, 2014
Rocklahoma is part of the World’s Loudest Month, which featured the biggest names in rock music performing in seven distinct concert atmospheres across the country on five consecutive weekends.
Rocklahomais located just 45 minutes northeast of Tulsa, in Pryor, OK. The “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds is a premier destination for a multi-day festival and includes onsite camping with access to restrooms and shower house, a general store for campers, VIP reserved seating, hospitality areas and much more.
Rocklahoma is proud to be sponsored by Bud Light, U.S. Cellular, Jägermeister, Monster Energy, Hard Rock Casino, Route 66 RVs and Jack Daniel’s.
