KING'S X Cancels Tour Dates So JERRY GASKILL Can Address Heart 'Issues'

KING'S X has canceled all of its previously announced tour dates for 2019 so that drummer Jerry Gaskill undergo undisclosed heart "procedures."

The band broke the news of the cancelation in a Facebook post earlier today. They wrote: "On October 14th, during a recent check-up with his cardiologist, Jerry Gaskill was informed that he had some issues with his heart that needed to be addressed, and as a result, he will need to have some procedures to help rectify these issues.

"Jerry is feeling positive and is looking toward the future, He wanted to make sure that his feelings were truly expressed, on how awful he feels about having this happen. He and the band were looking forward to playing these upcoming shows, especially knowing that they were selling out. Jerry is determined as always to do whatever he can to get back out and see all of the fans, and as his focus is turned inward we all ask that you keep FAITH HOPE AND LOVE during this process."

Gaskill added: "It is with great sadness and sorrow that we must cancel and reschedule these upcoming shows. I thought of every possible way that I could actually get out there and do this. I was very much looking forward to it. But I realized in the end that it just would not be wise. Yet, I am determined once again to come back and be better than ever. Thanks for all the love and understanding."

KING'S X and its representatives have rescheduled these dates for April 2020:

April 16 - [to be announced]
April 17 - Hazard, KY - City of Hazard Hal Rogers Center
April 19 - Nashville, TN - The Basement East
April 23 - Austin, TX - Come and Take It Live
April 24 - Dallas, TX - Canton Hall
April 25 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live

KING'S X was sidelined by several health scares in recent years, including frontman Doug Pinnick's two hernia operations and two near-fatal heart attacks suffered by Gaskill.

Earlier this year, Gaskill told Tom Leu of Sound Matters Radio that he was "doing better than ever. I feel like I understand my body better," he said. "I've learned how to listen to my body, which is something we all can do, we all should do. Our bodies do tell us what it wants and what it doesn't want, and if we listen, we'd find out we can be a lot better. Our bodies were made to move, and they're made to rest. Those things are all very important. We have to watch the things that we eat... I've learned that from the experience of dying. I say 'dying,' because I actually did die. If I had been alone when the first heart attack happened, there's no way I could have possibly recovered. I have no recollection of even going down, but I went completely down. My wife was there; she saw. I have no recollection, and she'll never forget it. I'm moving on better than ever, but she still, in the back of her mind, sees me dying, so she's always concerned with everything even though I know I'm doing better than ever... I'm working out — I'm working out six days a week. I get up every morning; I go to my basement [to exercise]. I also see a personal trainer who completely changed my life. He taught me how to listen to my body. He taught me how to move my body properly, which is important."

According to Jerry, he is living a cleaner lifestyle today that he did in the past. "I drank a bit there for a while, but I never felt like I was too out of control," he said. "But I drank more than I should, and that will take a toll on your body. That's what I'll say to younger people — we have to watch the alcohol and the drugs, because when we're young, we don't realize that anything's going to harm us. We don't realize it's harming our bodies, because our bodies are very resilient. If we continue with that, it's going to catch up with us, and there will be a time when it could possibly be too late. As soon as we can possibly start taking care of ourselves by listening to our bodies, the better off we'll be."

Asked how he has changed from his near-death experiences, Jerry said: "I very much just try to stay away from stress. I see no purpose in stress. It doesn't matter, because most often, the things we stress about — the things we worry about and fret about — never happen to begin with, and it causes more problems to worry about things than it does just to do things. Just life your life, because those things are part of life. I think it's just a matter of [changing] how we deal with things."

KING'S X recently completed recording a new album, its first since 2008's "XV". It will mark the band's debut LP for Golden Robot Records. An early 2020 release is expected.