WAYNE STATIC Discussed Past Drug Use, Plans For New Solo Album Less Than Three Days Before Death (Audio)

Harold "Howie" Herula of the "Hard Edge Radio" show on TapDetroit.com conducted an interview with Wayne Static on October 29 — less than three full days before the STATIC-X frontman's death. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

Asked about the lyrical themes covered on his 2011 solo album "Pighammer", Static said: "Well, it was a very transitional part of my life. I had been a hard drug user for many years, and I wrote that record while my wife and I were trying to come down off drugs, and a lot of the record is about that.

"The song 'Assassins Of Youth'… 'Assassins of youths' is what they used to call drugs in the old days when they first started the anti-drug campaign. And it's kind of an anti-drug record. Most of the songs are about drugs and doing drugs and all that kind of stuff.

"People don't realize it's an anti-drug record, not pro-drug record.

"Believe me, I had a great time [doing drugs]; I mean, it was awesome. [Laughs] [But] I became an addict. I didn't know that would happen. I'm, like, 'Oh, I'm not gonna addicted. I'm just gonna have a good time.' And then five years later, I'm all strung out. So that record was really interesting."

He continued: "My wife and I sold our house in L.A. and we moved out to the high desert in California, by Joshua Tree, and we're out in the middle of nowhere. So it was kind of therapeutic in a way. I did everything myself — I produced it, engineered it, played everything, wrote everything — so it was very gratifying in that way as well. Because I wrote all the STATIC-X songs as well, and then I had to go back and play the demos for all these other clowns [in the band] and then argue with them endlessly in the studio about whether the drums were loud enough or the bass was loud enough, or whether there should be a drum fill there… You know what I mean?! So it was really awesome just making the record by myself, and that was my vision for 'evil disco,' that was my original vision, and it was awesome to be able to make it happen, to have the opportunity."

Static also spoke his plans for the follow-up to "Pighammer", which he hoped to release sometime in 2015.

"I'm definitely gonna have a new record out next year," he said. "I've been using every spare moment that I haven't been touring to be writing. I've got some cool stuff going on, and everyone's gonna dig it. No big left turns or anything like that. It's gonna be straight-up evil disco, what you would expect from me, but the songs are just really solid. And I'm just gonna make sure every song is super tight and solid, and I'm trying to get it out in a timely fashion.

"It's just been really hard, 'cause I had a really hard year in 2012 where I had to have triple hernia surgery, and I was out of commission for a year; I couldn't walk, I couldn't sing, I couldn't do anything with work. So it was kind of a rough year. I'm all recovered, and we had a lot of making up to do. We've just been touring a lot, trying to make up for last time. And I've also been trying to write."

He continued: "It's just been so busy, man. It's just crazy. We just had two months off, except for a trip to China — it was in between there — which it sounds like it's only one show, but it turns into two weeks of your life, 'cause you spend one week getting ready for the show, and then you spend three or four days flying over there and playing a show, and all that, and then coming back, and it takes you another week to get back into writing mode. So it's really weird; you're in touring mode or writing mode, and I can't just switch back and forth. Like, I always need a few days to kind of reconfigure all my gear and reconfigure my thought process. So it's been tough trying to write. I don't know how these bands did it back in the '70s when they would crank out two records a year and tour at the same time, which is incredible to me. I have so much respect for all those bands working so hard like that. But then again, they only had eight songs on a record, so…"

In related news, PAPA ROACH singer Jacoby Shaddix has apologized for remarks he made shortly after Static's death, suggesting that Wayne's passing last weekend was caused by a drug overdose. Shaddix told Loudwire, "I read a blog online that said it was an O.D., and I posted online, ‘Too many dudes dying because of drugs. It's terrible.' Apparently, it's not drugs, so I put on my Facebook that I was incredibly sorry that I jumped the gun if that's not the truth. My heart goes out to his family, regardless. My intention wasn't to drag him through the mud or anything."

Shaddix's original post on Twitter said, "RIP Wayne…. This is so sad. Too many musicians are dying from drug overdoses."

Shaddix's apology on Facebook said, "I feel terrible about my post about Wayne's passing. I had a few friends hit me up and said he died from an overdose. I should have checked my facts first… My heart goes out to his family and friend. My heart is heavy. Wayne, I always had respect for you and didn't mean to disrespect you and your family like I did. It wasn't my intentions. I will own my mistake. May you rest in peace."

Statements from both Static's widow, Tera Wray, and a publicist dismissed rumors that his passing was the result of a drug overdose.

Interview (audio):