TONY CAMPOS Says STATIC-X Fans Have 'Embraced' The Idea Of A Character Representing WAYNE STATIC's Vibe And Spirit

Tony Campos has once again explained STATIC-X's decision to enlist a vocalist who wears a mask in the likeness of late frontman Wayne Static during the band's recent tours.

While 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 performing alongside bassist Campos, drummer Ken Jay and guitarist Koichi Fukuda.

In a new 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 posted 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 latest LP "Project Regeneration Vol. 1", 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", is scheduled for release on January 26, 2024. A collection of 14 brand-new songs, the upcoming LP was produced by Xer0 and mixed/mastered by longtime collaborator Ulrich Wild.

Photo credit: Jeremy Saffer