STATIC-X's TONY CAMPOS Names Five Albums That Shaped Him As A Bassist

In a new interview with Emilee Capogni, STATIC-X's Tony Campos was asked to name five records that shaped him as a bassist. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "'Kill 'Em All' [by] METALLICA. Cliff Burton's bass solo on that was huge for me. S.O.D.'s 'Speak English Or Die'. Dan Lilker's playing and tone on that was big for me. 'Convicted' by CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER. A hardcore punk band. [Their] bass player Rob Nicholson, now known better as Blasko, his bass playing on that was just fucking sick. And then, believe it or not, 'Hell Awaits' by SLAYER. I had a shitty record player at the time. That's how old I am — I had a record player. And I couldn't really hear what [SLAYER's] Tom [Araya] was playing. So I just doubled the guitars. And that's why I can play a million miles an hour now. 'Cause I was just doing everything the guitar played. And then one more. Probably [RED HOT] CHILI PEPPERS' 'Blood Sugar Sex Magik'. That turned me on to the more groove style of bass playing and locking in with your drummer and that whole side of bass playing' Cause before that, all I knew was playing a million miles an hour, roaring the praises of Satan. And then that record turned me on to sitting in a pocket with a drummer and just sitting in a groove. As much as I fucking love playing a million miles an hour, there's something equally satisfying to me in just grooving and locking in with your drummer. It's the two sides of my playing, and that record, I think, turned me on to that style of playing. And then from there, I discovered other bands, like EARTH, WIND & FIRE and PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC, INFECTIOUS GROOVES, PRIMUS — that other side of bass playing for me."

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the STATIC-X's debut album, "Wisconsin Death Trip", the band recently released a trailer for the upcoming documentary film "Evil Disco: The Rise, Fall, And Regeneration Of Static-X".

Although the identity of STATIC-X's touring singer has not been officially revealed, strong rumors suggest that DOPE's Edsel Dope is the anonymous, somewhat ominous new frontman of STATIC-X who is wearing a mask in the likeness of late frontman Wayne Static while performing alongside Campos, Ken Jay (drums) and Koichi Fukuda (guitar).

In a fall 2023 interview with Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3, Campos addressed STATIC-X's reliance on a "masked" vocalist instead of hiring a proper replacement for Wayne, saying: "It's been really cool, man, how people have embraced that idea of having the character up there being the representative of Wayne's vibe and spirit without us being, like, 'Hey, here's STATIC-X with their new singer.' That's not what we wanted to do. So, we were just, like, 'How do we represent Wayne in a cool way?' And I think this is a really cool way to do it."

He continued: "I keep coming back to the IRON MAIDEN analogy — not only was Wayne our Bruce Dickinson [IRON MAIDEN singer], but he was also our Eddie [IRON MAIDEN mascot]. He was the mascot for the band. So how do you represent that? And I think the Xer0 character does a good job at it."

When Hall noted that it must be "a pretty powerful experience" for him to be looking over and seeing Xer0 channeling the spirit of Wayne during STATIC-X's live shows, Tony said: "When we first started and I'm up there headbanging doing my thing, out of my peripheral vision, I see that figure with the hair and I'm playing the songs again, it's just like 20 years ago; it was just that vibe again. And having Koichi and, and Kenny up there, it was really cool, man. And especially those first couple of weeks, we'd be done with the show and we'd be back in the dressing room, and we'd all be, like, 'Fuck, Wayne should be here.' But we definitely feel this vibe and presence."

Static died after mixing Xanax and other powerful prescription drugs with alcohol, according to the coroner's report. The 48-year-old, whose real name was Wayne Richard Wells, was found dead in his Landers, California home on November 1, 2014.

Static founded STATIC-X in 1994 and achieved commercial success with "Wisconsin Death Trip", which included the rock radio hit "Push It".

The group issued five more studio albums before disbanding permanently in June 2013. Static had been pursuing a solo career at the time of his death.

Dope recently told Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio that the reason Xer0's identity has not been officially revealed is that he wants to make sure that STATIC-X is "properly represented, because I would never be interested in looking at a photo of STATIC-X or reading a liner note that mentions me as being the singer of STATIC-X. Edsel Dope has no interest in being the singer of STATIC-X," he clarified. "There's one living, breathing singer of STATIC-X, and that's Wayne Static. And then there's a character, an entity, for lack of better words, that was created in order to allow STATIC-X to have a future and to continue and be the legacy act that they are and tour and perform, and we gave that character a name that is respective to STATIC-X and fits the branding of what STATIC-X is, and that's what the importance is. It's the importance of recognizing the character as opposed to recognizing the person behind the character."

Back in October 2019, a photo was posted online clearly showing that Dope and Xer0 shared the same neck tattoo. However, Edsel later shared a lengthy statement on his band's Facebook page attempting to quash the rumors, implying Xer0's distinctive body ink was in fact a Photoshop job. Dope even provided a photograph of himself supposedly observing a STATIC-X performance sidestage to prove he and Xer0 were not the same person.

STATIC-X's "Project Regeneration Vol. 1" LP came out in July 2020. The first of two volumes, it featured 12 brand new tracks, containing many of the final vocal performances and musical compositions of Wayne Static, along with the original "Wisconsin Death Trip" lineup of Campos, Jay and Fukuda. A follow-up album, "Project Regeneration: Vol. 2", arrived on January 26, 2024. A collection of 14 brand-new songs, the LP was produced by Xer0 and mixed/mastered by longtime collaborator Ulrich Wild.