AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE Bassist: BRYAN OTTOSON 'Was Not Some Crazy Drug Addict'

April 29, 2005

AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE bassist Chad Hanks — known to fans by his stage name, Mr. H.C. Banks III — spoke to MTV.com about the events that led to Bryan Ottoson's death last week, and the anguish the group has been feeling.

Regarding the Internet gossip that Ottoson — who was determined by investigators to have died of a prescription-drug overdose — was a heavy drug user, Hanks said, "Bryan had actually been on penicillin. He had strep throat. He actually had strep two or three times in like four, five months. He just had a real propensity for getting it. And every time he got it, it got worse. This time, his tonsils were literally black."

A doctor Ottoson saw in Philadelphia prescribed him painkillers "because every time he swallowed, tears would come to his eyes," Hanks continued. "But he wasn't swallowing handfuls of pills and not knowing what they were. This was a guy who maybe liked to drink a little bit, and that was it. He was not some crazy drug addict — that's probably the rest of the band. Everybody knows pretty much all of us have been to rehab. As far as my life has gone since I've been 17, and all the stupid shit I've done, and some of the stupid shit I know other people in the band have done — for this to happen to the most innocent guy in the band, it's just bizarre to me. It was the last thing you'd expect from Bryan."

Benji Hellberg of the Minneapolis band BLACK FLOOD DIESEL has been tapped to fill in for Ottoson on the remaining dates of the MUDVAYNE tour.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).