CRASHDÏET Guitarist Discusses Frontman's Suicide

Brian Rademacher of Rock Eyez recently conducted an interview with CRASHDÏET guitarist Martin Sweet about the band's decision to carry on following the suicide death of the group's frontman David Hellman (a.k.a. Dave Lepard) in January 2006. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Rock Eyez: What changed your mind [about your decision to] continue [the band without Dave]?

Martin: That was what we felt at that time. I mean we were in shock. We couldn't believe he wasn't coming back, ever... It still feels like he's on a long vacation sometimes. But now it's been quite a while since it happened. We've discussed the issue with a lot of people including some of the Lepard family and they're very positive about us keeping the name. We believe that if we do so, we will keep Dave's legacy alive in many ways, 'cause we're still heading for the top and releasing albums (including "Rest in Sleaze") in every damn country there is! We'll also pay tribute to him on stage, when the time comes to tour...

Rock Eyez: Is this true or false: "The other members were rumored to be fed up with Hellman's excessive drug intake and were on the verge of leaving, or already had left?"

Martin: What can I say; we had internal problems, like in any other band. But we never had intentions of leaving the band, because we loved the band... I mean for me, CRASHDÏET was my whole life, and still is.

Rock Eyez: Did you notice any kind of change in Dave?

Martin: Not really. He must have been pretty good at hiding whatever weaknesses he had, because I never would have thought in a million years that he could make the decision to leave this world. He was a confident person in my eyes... I wish I'd known more about what was going on inside his head. We tried to help him a million times you know, take him to rehab and shit but he was determined to quit drugs on his own...

Rock Eyez: Is there any CRASHDÏET material done with Dave that you have stashed away which could be used in the future?

Martin: We have a lot of that material too, but those songs are a bit sacred for us. We wouldn't want to to record those again… it's better to release those together with other old CRASH demos. We will most certainly do so in the future.

Rock Eyez: Is there a chance of a video diary or a DVD coming out? Many fans are asking.

Martin: We have a DVD all set to be pressed and released. We just have to sort out a few things first. The DVD will be kind of like a bootleg, Very raw. No overdubs and shit. There's one complete concert and about an hour of bonus material from different gigs, video shoots, backstage etc. We put it together ourselves.

Read the entire interview at www.rockeyez.com.