Last week, it was revealed that Dance Gavin Dance singer Jonny Craig had been arrested for possession of narcotics. Following the arrest and tour cancelation, word about Dance Gavin Dance going on hiatus spread around the web but had not been officially announced. However, in an exclusive interview with Alt Press, guitarist Will Swan confirmed that the band will be going on hiatus while they wait for Craig.
When asked how Craig had been doing prior to the arrest, Swan revealed the following:
“We tried multiple times to get him to agree to rehab. After Warped Tour we gave him the option of going to a rehab facility for at least a month at no cost to him. He wouldn’t go. We didn’t see much of him for a few weeks and when we did, he seemed to be getting worse and worse. After our show at Sacramentio State last week, we realized he wasn’t going to get off the drugs while being in DGD. We didn’t want to completely cut him off though, so we decided to go on hiatus until he could clean himself up.”
When asked about Dance Gavin Dance’s future, Swan said the following:
“I hope the best for Jonny. Hardcore drug addiction is no joke or reason for ridicule. If Jonny can put this problem behind him, we’d be glad to come back stronger than ever. Until that happens DGD will stay on hiatus.”
Swan reiterated throughout the interview that the band would not move forward without Craig, who is scheduled for further arraignment later today in Solano County, California. The guitarist also hinted that while the tour was canceled due to Craig’s struggles with drugs, the band had no clue of his troubles with the law and discovered his arrest through online reports.
While the band seems to be patient with Craig now, there was a time when Dance Gavin Dance wasn’t. Fans may recall that Craig quit DGD in 2007 and the band refused to bring him back when the singer asked to rejoin. The band then released a statement blaming Craig’s drug and alcohol abuse for the split. Despite all of that, Craig rejoined the group last year and appeared on Downtown Battle Mountain II. And now, despite all the drama Craig has caused this past year, it looks like Dance Gavin Dance would rather wait for the troubled singer to clean up his act than find a replacement. Craig’s other band Emarosa, though, wasn’t as patient and gave him the boot pretty fast. Although, given Craig’s track record, you can’t really blame them.
