Last month, The Bled announced that they were calling it quits after ten years. The Arizona hardcore band will be embarking on a farewell tour this coming November. Yet that isn’t the only bad news for fans, as it’s safe to say that current and former members of The Bled had a shitty Labor Day weekend.
First up is former drummer Michael Pedicone. He’s been recently on the road with My Chemical Romance as their touring drummer – that is until the band caught Pedicone in the act of theft. MCR guitarist Frank Iero confirmed that Pedicone was fired after being caught stealing from them via the following statement on the band’s website:
“Some shit happened last night and before the blogosphere gets all crazy with false statements and ridiculous opinions we want the true story to come from us… But please listen close because this is the only time we are ever going to talk about this. The relationship between My Chemical Romance and Michael Pedicone is over. He was caught red handed stealing from the band and confessed to police after our show last night in Auburn, Washington.
We are heartbroken and sick to our stomachs over this entire situation. The band has no intention of pressing charges or taking this matter any further than we have to. We just want him out of our lives. The people who play in this band are a family, and family should not take advantage of each other like he did. We are currently moving forward, and hope to have a new drummer in place for our show in Salt Lake City, Utah. The show must go on.”
In addition to two separate postings via Twitter, Pedicone himself addressed the situation in a statement given to Kerrang Magazine by saying:
“To the media, my colleagues in the music industry, and, most importantly, the fans of My Chemical Romance. As many of you have heard by now, on Thursday evening I was let go as the touring drummer for MCR. The ensuing hours have been difficult for many reasons, but particularly because the actions that led to my dismissal have been twisted and misinterpreted via rumour mongering on the internet. With this, I’d like to put the rumours to rest.
Almost as soon as I began touring with MCR I ran into problems with a member of the band’s crew who I’ll not name. The problems were many, big and small, but some of them were large enough that they began to greatly impact me and, by extension, my family. I’d reached my wits’ end, and I made what was certainly the poorest decision of my life. Rather than address the issues that I had with the crew member in an open and honest manner, I tried to make them look irresponsible. My intention was to make this person look incompetent. I had no intention of profiting whatsoever. Again, I cannot overstate how poor my judgment was in this situation; it was a tremendous mistake, and it’s one I’ll regret for years to come.
I would have liked an opportunity to share my side of the story with MCR, an opportunity to express my remorse. I was never given one. I’d like to thank MCR’s members, crew, and supporters for giving me some of the best musical experiences of my life in the past several months. However brief our partnership, it was an honour and a dream come true to play with such a talented bunch of individuals. I wish MCR the best of luck in the future, and I’m looking forward to my next endeavour.
Thank you, Michael Pedicone.”
While the actions of a former drummer might not directly affect The Bled, their guitarist’s recent injury might. Guitarist Robbie Burbidge was sent to the hospital after sustaining injuries from a motorcycle accident this past weekend. He is currently in stable condition with a broken arm. However he admitted via Twitter that he is unsure whether he’ll heal in time for The Bled’s farewell tour in November. In addition to responding to tweets from fans and friends, he also uploaded a picture of himself in the hospital (which can be seen above).
We’ll bet that none of this is how The Bled wanted to go out. Hopefully the farewell tour in November will turn out better. We also hope that Burbidge makes a speedy recovery.
