STATIC-X bassist Tony Campos says that the vocalist who will wear a mask in the likeness of late frontman Wayne Static during the band's upcoming reunion tour is a "perfectionist" who will "do the performance in the spirit of what Wayne's vibe and energy was." The North American trek, which celebrates the 20th anniversary of STATIC-X's platinum-certified "Wisconsin Death Trip" album and pays homage to Static, features co-headliner DEVILDRIVER and support from DOPE. While the identity of STATIC-X's touring singer has not been officially revealed, strong rumors suggest that DOPE frontman Edsel Dope will pull double duty during the trek and perform with drummer Ken Jay, guitarist Koichi Fukuda and bassist Tony Campos. Asked by Outburn magazine what the selection process was like for finding the right frontman for this memorial tour, Tony said: "We wanted someone that we knew, that knew Wayne, and obviously that could do the performance in the spirit of what Wayne's vibe and energy was. He had to be a cool dude too. We didn't have to look too hard — that was the cool thing. It just fell into place that way." According to Tony, he became convinced pretty quickly that the new singer, who calls himself "Xer0", would be able to do the STATIC-X material justice. "When I first heard him do it, I knew that this was going to work," Campos said. "He's a perfectionist, so he's been rehearsing on his own for the last month. He's been playing the songs and singing, so by the time the full band starts rehearsing in a couple of weeks, he will be ready and we will be ready." Asked how he feels fans are going to respond to this singer, Tony said: "Just from the response that I have seen online, as far as the video stuff that we have put out there with the audio of him actually singing some of that stuff, I think it is going to go over very well." STATIC-X plans to perform the majority of its debut album at each show on the tour, which kicks off on June 18 in Tempe, Arizona. "Project Regeneration", featuring the last recordings of Static, will be released later this year. The rest of the group's original lineup will also be featured on the album and in the music videos. STATIC-X is currently focused on finishing 12 tracks for "Project Regeneration", with almost all of them set to feature Wayne's lead vocals. STATIC-X is in the process of finalizing a label partner in order to ensure that "Project Regeneration" will be promoted and distributed worldwide, just like all of the band's previous albums. Last fall, STATIC-X released a teaser featuring clips from a brand-new music video, as well as five new STATIC-X tracks — "Road To Hell", "Something Of My Own", "Terminator Oscillator", "Hollow" and "Disco Otsego" — along with a personal message from Campos about the inspiration behind "Project Regeneration". Wayne Static died in November 2014 after mixing Xanax and other powerful prescription drugs with alcohol, according to the coroner's report. The 48-year-old, whose real name was Wayne Richard Wells, was found dead in his Landers, California home. Static founded STATIC-X in 1994 and achieved commercial success with "Wisconsin Death Trip", which included the rock radio hit "Push It". The group issued five more studio albums before disbanding permanently in June 2013. Static had been pursuing a solo career at the time of his death.
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