First there was Shuggie, which was involved in a multi-car pile-up on the infamous "grapevine" while on tour last month. Following that mishap came a mess of other tragedies, both minor and major, in such quick succession that I have a hard time keeping timelines straight. So indulge me a bit while I sum up the score with little regard for chronology:
Okay, Mariah has little or nothing to do with Seattle, but she bugged out and checked into a mental hospital for a rest. Following suit was Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh, who checked himself into a psychological facility for unspecified reasons. Then, while touring the East Coast, the Murder City Devils suffered internal problems (the official statement blames keyboardist Leslie Hardy's recent hand surgery and the complications she suffered during recovery), which caused the band to cancel its upcoming European tour, which was to have included an appearance at the U.K.'s prestigious Reading Festival as well as a Peel Session. Rumors are circulating that Hardy is out of the band, and that Pretty Girls Make Graves drummer Nick DeWitt will fill in on keys when the MCDs hit the road in November.
After that, the fate of the Devils is in their own hands, so to speak, and depending on who you want to believe, they're either continuing on, breaking up, or a little of both. Whatever the case, the Murder City Devils' recent EP, Thelema, fulfilled the obligations of their contract with Sub Pop. And what do you think about this: Is it just coincidence that the album's cover art features a palm reader's diagram of the hand? All I have to say is that according to that diagram, I'll never marry. In other band break-up news, Watery Graves is now rumored to be no longer.
Okay, so besides my hard drive crashing and taking every beloved MP3 with it, the next tragedy to befall the even remotely music-related world was Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins landing himself in the hospital after a case of the old "overindulgence." Various music websites reported that the drummer had been whooping it up with members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers when he overdid it so badly he ended up on a gurney somewhere in Eastern Europe. Right about the same time, my friend Kim Warnick of Fastbacks/ Visqueen fame put her efforts, and her back, into teaching us all a lesson. In the same way that Bon Scott died so we'd all remember to turn our drunken friends onto their stomachs when they pass out, Kim mopped her kitchen floor in her socks to remind us all that Mop & Glo + improper footwear = fractured tailbone.
Visqueen frontwoman Rachel Flotard found herself at the hospital just hours before the band's debut Crocodile show. She'll be recovering from some scary retina-related surgery by the time you're reading this.
Then Aaliyah's plane went down, a very sad tragedy for her friends, family, and fans.
Now, this last bit of bad luck falls into a very remotely related area, but faithful readers of It's My Party will see relevance nonetheless. Mr. Showbiz reported that Winona Ryder has been forced to drop out of her latest film project due to a "mystery illness." The article goes on to quote sources as saying that Ryder has been spotted in public looking shaky, nervous, and sweating profusely as she chain smokes.
I'm pretty sure that's exactly how folks would have described me a year ago this week, proving that all cycles do come to an end, eventually.
kathleen@thestranger.com
