Chad Hanks — co-founding bassist of Minneapolis, Minnesota, industrialized nu-metal band American Head Charge — passed away yesterday (November 12th) at age 46. He had reportedly been battling a terminal illness leading up to his death. A benefit concert/public memorial will be held on November 26th at Minneapolis' First Avenue. Donations to cover Hanks' final expenses can be sent via PayPal to chadhanksbenefit@gmail.com.
Hanks co-founded American Head Charge in 1997 and played on all their albums, including 2001's The War of Art, which was produced by Rick Rubin, who had been turned on to the group by System of a Down's Shavo Odadjian, and released on Rubin's label American Recordings. The band played that year's Ozzfest and the Slipknot-headlined Pledge of Allegiance tour in support of the LP. American Head Charge's most recent offering, the full-length Tango Umbrella, was released in 2016 via Napalm Records.
Hanks' bandmates remembered him on social media. Vocalist Cameron Heacock and keyboardist Justin Fowler shared personal photos on their respective Facebook pages, while former American Head Charge guitarist Ted Hallows wrote in a separate post: "Rest In Peace my friend. You will be missed and your music will live on forever. Thank you for making me a better guitarist and thank you for all the great memories we shared together. Love you man and won't ever forget you." He closed with a Hunter S. Thompson quote: "There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die."
