Nu-metal fans were shocked and saddened this week to learn the fate of ex-American Head Charge vocalist Cameron Heacock. He is homeless and living with a fentanyl addiction. So now, fans are rallying around him, with one boldly declaring: “This is intolerable.”
The whole situation came to light on an episode of Soft White Underbelly, a web series created by Mark Laita. The YouTube channel is self-described as offering “interviews and portraits of the human condition.” It could also be said that the series explores the tragic and devastating circumstances of people who find themselves living embattled lives: unhoused, struggling with substance abuse, and/or shattered by crime.
In a recent episode, Heacock sat with Laita and spoke about the band he helped found, as well as how he wound up homeless and addicted to fentanyl for “at least five or six years.”
“I’ve lost track, it’s been a long time,” Heacock said. He also confessed that he was aware “a couple of friends were looking for him.” The nu-metal vocalist also shared that he has a desire to get sober and live clean. He also desperately wants to make music again, because it has been such a support to him through his struggles.
“It sucks, because I love music, I love making music, I love the whole process, I love touring, I love everything about it,” he shared. “I still have so much music in my heart.”
He added, “I pour everything into the records when I make them, [and] I have at least two, three records in my head that I wanna release. I mean, I only really wanna make these for myself. It’s like my therapy.”
American Head Charge previously worked with legendary music producer Rick Rubin
Heacock helped found American Head Charge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in the mid-90s. The band eventually caught the ear of Rick Rubin, who produced their second album, The War of Art (2001). Nu-metal fans—including myself—almost unanimously agree that it is one of the greatest, most underrated albums the genre has ever spawned.
Over the next two decades, American Head Charge released two more albums, with a hiatus in between. The band mostly went quiet after Heacock was arrested in Costa Mesa, California, while driving an allegedly stolen van full of stolen items in 2018. There were some plans to reunite in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic shut that down, and Heacock eventually disappeared. Until now.
A Charity concert celebrating ‘The War of Art’ is currently in the works
Fans who learned of Heacock’s situation are mounting up and seeking to help support him. They want to see him get clean so that he can start focusing on making new music again. Holiday Kirk, editor of Nu Metal Agenda, was deeply moved by Heacock’s story. He’s currently working to organize a fundraiser event for the vocalist.
“This is intolerable. This is an unacceptable state of affairs. Nobody capable of music as grand, as brilliant, as ‘The War of Art’ should be living like this,” Kirk wrote in a social media post. “Frankly, nobody should be living like this, and it’s so g**damn f***ing awful that we let anyone sleep on the f***ing street without a second thought.
“But Cameron is one of ours,” Kirk continued. “He is one of the greatest singers and songwriters that nu-metal has ever known. His music saved my life. And I can’t rest knowing that this is what his life has become.”
Kirk went on to share that he is looking to hold the benefit show at First Ave in Minneapolis. He’s urged anyone with experience in these types of situations who is available to help him to please get in touch.
The post Fans Rally Around Nu-Metal Frontman Found Homeless and Addicted to Fentanyl: “This Is Intolerable” appeared first on VICE.
