MUDVAYNE's CHAD GRAY Says 'Irony' Of Him Falling Off Stage While Singing 'Not Falling' Is 'Crazy' And 'Unbelievable'

MUDVAYNE singer Chad Gray has joked about the irony of him falling off stage while singing the song "Not Falling", calling it "crazy" and "unbelievable".

The incident happened on July 26 in Tampa, Florida when Grayand his bandmates were performing at MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre as part of MUDVAYNE's co-headlining U.S. tour with ROB ZOMBIE, dubbed "Freaks On Parade".

Gray addressed his fall once again while appearing on DWPresents On Twitch's "The Gunz Club" show hosted by his wife Shannon Gunz of SiriusXM. He said: "It's amazing. I mean, it really is. C'mon. The fucking irony, that it happens during 'Not Falling' is just unbelievable. It's so crazy."

According to Gray, the fall happened just as suddenly as could be seen in the numerous fan-filmed clips that have circulated on social media.

"As fast as you see that happen, it's literally as fast and as hard as my chest hit the top of the barricade," he said. "I wanted to fucking pee my pants. I mean, it fucking hurt so bad."

As for the reaction from the fans and the media to his fall, Gray said: "What's fucking crazy is the love that I'm getting from the fans and the people that were either there or not there, or have been to these shows and are fucking just over the moon about everything have been so fucking radical. The people that are really kind of giving me the most fucking shit are my friends. Dude, my fucking friends have been blowing me up, sending me all these fucking memes. I was, like, 'You know what? Fuck you.'"

Last Thursday, Gray posted a video message on his Instagram in which he shared "the whole truth" behind the incident. The 50-year-old musician said in part: "I just want you to know that it's not like I walked out there and fuckin' slipped on a banana peel or something and fell into the crowd. It was absolutely my intention to get out there and get down in your face and lay on ya and lean into ya and scream and have you scream back at me. It's probably one of my favorite parts of any show that I ever play, is getting that close with you guys.

"What happened was… So I basically walk to the down stage edge of the stage, and I step across and I put my foot on top of the barricade. When I'm on the stage, there's about five feet underneath me from where my feet are at to the ground, so I'm even higher, my head and shit. So, yeah, it's probably four or five feet. So what happened was I stepped out, the crowd surged forward, pushed my foot off backwards, so my foot went straight fuckin' down. My left foot was still on the stage — I hadn't stepped across yet — and my whole fucking body just went 'wham!' like that, right on top of the barricade, right here, right across my sternum. I thought I was gonna piss my pants; it hurt so fuckin' bad. We were ironically in the course of 'Not Falling', which is amazing, so I just started singing that. And I was able to sing. So I just pushed through the shit.

"It was fucking brutal," Gray admitted. "But we did it, and I got through it. I'm on day two now. I'm hoping this is the worst of it. I hope it's kind of like lifting weights where you get sore for a couple of days. But the good news is I didn't break a rib. Otherwise this tour could be over and I would be absolutely fuckin' devastated because all I wanted to do for the last two and a half years is get back out here and be with my fuckin' heavy metal family around the country and hopefully soon around the world."

Produced by Live Nation, the 21-city "Freaks On Parade" tour kicked off on July 20 at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, making stops across the U.S. in Tampa, Holmdel, Tinley Park, and more before wrapping up in The Woodlands at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on August 21. Support on the trek is coming from STATIC-X and POWERMAN 5000.

MUDVAYNE formed in 1996 and has sold over six million records worldwide, earning gold certification for three albums ("L.D. 50", "The End Of All Things To Come", "Lost And Found"). The band is known for its sonic experimentation, innovative album art, face and body paint, masks and uniforms. MUDVAYNE is Gray, Greg Tribbett (guitar, backing vocals),Matthew McDonough (drums, synthesizer) and Ryan Martinie (bass).

Gray has spent the past 16 years fronting HELLYEAH, which released its sixth studio album, "Welcome Home", in September 2019 via Eleven Seven Music. The disc marked the group's final effort with drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, who passed away more than four years ago.

MUDVAYNE did not tour behind its fifth album, which was barely promoted and sold weakly upon release.