CKY Booted From Tour After Vocalist Allegedly Punches Alien Ant Farm Frontman in the Face
The world of alternative metal has been watching drama unfold over the weekend, with Pennsylvania outfit CKY being booted from Alien Ant Farm’s current tour after Chad I Ginsburg reportedly punched Dryden Mitchell in the face.
The two bands were in the midst of a lengthy run of dates throughout Europe and the United Kingdom, with the European leg wrapping up on Thursday (Nov. 7). However, the shows in the U.K. will be going ahead without CKY due to their frontman allegedly assaulting the Alien Ant Farm vocalist, according to Mitchell.
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Taking to social media on Saturday (Nov. 9), Mitchell wrote that “Chad from CKY hasn’t figured out how to cohabitate with others after all these years.”
“They will no longer be on the Alien Ant Farm Tour through the rest of the UK shows after Chad punched me in the face earlier today,” Mitchell added. “I’ve watched him treat multiple crew members and opening band members like trash through the Europe shows and cause general drama around our camp. Before the last Europe shows I went to Chad and asked if he had any issues with anyone specifically and if he wanted to have a meeting with the whole crew and bands to discuss what’s going on, he up ended the table in the dressing room and threw his phone, and then cancelled their show….
“Today we still had business things to square away and I told his manager what a problem Chad was being, verbally, as well as f–kin up the bus with all of his messes every day for other people to clean up… Well he punched me in the face and pretty much ran away like I imagine he’ll do for all of his future problems. I’m grateful for my sobriety and grateful that I didn’t retaliate physically in any way whatsoever. I would love these shows to continue and apologize to all the CKY fans for Chad’s behavior. We have zero hard feelings for Jess and Elvis in CKY and are gutted to see them go, but I will never knowingly put myself in volatile situations so this had to end.”
Mitchell concluded his post by claiming that if Ginsberg seeks therapy, “maybe in 25 years… we can shake hands.” CKY’s appearance on the U.K. tour has since been replaced by bands such as INME, Rat’s Nest, The Fear and The Nocturnal Affair.
Ginsberg himself has since responded to the allegations, urging fans to get their money back, and pairing his post on social media with tags such as “#tourcancelled”, “#onesidedbulls–t”, “#twosidestoeverystory” and “#ifyouonlyknew”.
“I had NO choice and GOOD reason for what happened,” he wrote. “I will always defend myself You know me much better than that! More info to come Apologies to the fans.”
Despite the alleged incident, the band’s Australian tour, which is currently scheduled to take place in February, is reportedly still set to go ahead, according to promoters.
“We are aware of the altercation between a member of Alien Ant Farm and a member of their support act, CKY,” promoters The Phoenix wrote in a statement on Sunday (Nov. 10). “We have spoken at length with the representative of both artists this morning. “At this point it is best to let tempers cool and believe a solution/compromise can be found in the next few days that enables the shows (all of which are selling out rapidly) to proceed as planned.”
The Phoenix also responded to claims that the incident between Ginsberg and Mitchell would affect the Australian tour, noting, “We are working with both bands to calm things down and keep the tour intact. In the words of The Offspring, we may have to keep them separated…”
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