GIDGET GEIN Memorial Benefit Held In Los Angeles

Lina Lecaro of the LA Weekly reports that a memorial benefit was held last Wednesday (December 3) at the Dragonfly in Los Angeles for former MARILYN MANSON bassist Gidget Gein, who was found dead in early October in his home in Burbank, California. The memorial, hosted by APOCALIPSTICK lass Lenora Claire and fetish model Courtney Cruz, featured Gein's art and an array of fiendish friends and fans performing in his honor, including EGO PLUM, ME AND MY MACHINE, PRINCE POPPYCOCK, and KIM FOWLEY. Funds raised from the gathering will buy Gein a nice memorial plaque at Hollywood Forever cemetery (his ashes are in Florida, his homestate).

Gein, whose real name is Brad Stewart, was reportedly found dead in his Burbank, California home on October 10 of an apparent drug overdose, according to LA Weekly. The 39-year-old Gein was an early member of the original MARILYN MANSON band and played on the group's debut album, 1994's "Portrait of an American Family", but was replaced by Jeordie "Twiggy Ramirez" White due to "excessive drug use."

The Florida-born Gein moved to New York after his exit from the MANSON lineup, where he formed a group called the DALI GAGGERS.

He returned to Florida in 2000 to work as a "bag boy" in the south Florida coroner's office, where he retrieved and cleaned up after dead bodies.

Gein moved to Los Angeles about five years ago to pursue his art, which was often featured at local openings and parties, although he was also in and out of rehab several times.

Gein, whose stage name was a combination of 60s TV character Gidget and real-life serial killer Ed Gein, had just started playing in a new band called PEOPLE and was planning both a book and a solo art show.