The Phil Rudd Story Is Nuts
Friday, November 7, 2014 at 12:01AM Update: According to a New Zealand-based website, the charge of attempting to procure murder has been dropped. Phil Rudd still faces one charge of threatening to kill, plus possession of methamphetamine and cannabis.
Original article:
AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd has been charged with attempting to have two men killed. He was in a New Zealand court yesterday, facing a count of attempting to procure a murder. He was also charged with threatening to kill, possession of methamphetamine and possession of cannabis. If convicted, Rudd may face up to 10 years in jail. He's 60 years old right now.
I don't know what to even say about this except the news is horrifyingly crazy and maybe this explains why Rudd wasn't in the band's promo shots a couple weeks ago. Perhaps he's been in a downward spiral of drugs and crazy.
AC/DC released a statement about Rudd's arrest:
"We've only become aware of Phil's arrest as the news was breaking. We have no further comment. Phil's absence will not affect the release of our new album, Rock Or Bust, and upcoming tour next year."
What does everyone think about this news?
Reader Comments (13)
Yes, dawn, sometimes you gotta put people in their place, even if they act like you sometimes.
I can't explain.
-The who.
What I am curious to know is this: what component/part of the initial charge led to the raid on his residence? I only ask because Australia does have malicious prosecution and reasonable cause statutes that are similar to those in the United States. If his lawyer can prove "actual damage," Rudd may have grounds for challenging the other issues at hand.
Thing is, seeking to dismiss/throw out the charges outright doesn't get around the serious issue: meth, which I will return to in a moment. I will put aside the issue of threat to do harm as it is wrapped up in the dropped charge, even if it carries a potential sentence of seven years. I will also put to the side the issue of weed, as it pales next to meth (even if I have issues with wholesale legalization in the States, Australia take a more prevention-based approach which side-steps, for the most part, additional problems I have with criminalization and incarceration in the States).
My problem is that the man they roused out of bed to answer charges after his house was raided is 60. I have no idea why he is missing a major portion of his teeth. Thing is, if I was taken by surprise I bet I would look pretty haggard. But the meth thing, well, if it is true it is sad and I hope he gets help.
I just wish the rest of it--and there is a lot of lurid stuff that is being circulated--would be put in more of an "alleged" context until the facts were known.
It won't however. We have to feed the beast, even as we attempt to offer words of comfort. Just the act of writing this feeds into the media circus. But I would like to think, even in the tiny realm of BBG, that I am not doing more harm by asking questions and withholding judgment as best I can.
So I will just tune this out as best I can, thinking of a Rudd who could keep the beat, smoke a cig, and wear those hilariously cool sunglasses. I hope AC/DC stands by him (and stops with the generic PR) until the details become clearer. I hope Rudd, whatever his demons, gets back behind the kit, healthy and happy. And I hope fans will offer more than just support . . . but also the benefit of doubt and a measure of restraint. Too many of our idols tear themselves down. Let's not help them, or others, for the fun of it or because it is what is expected nowadays.
[To anyone who would suggest that this smacks of hypocrisy when read against any of my other smarmy posts about artists, please read them again. I will, on occasion skewer an artist whose clearly established past actions suggest that a lesson learned, was in fact, not.]
But they have put out some lethal albums and toured with some phenomenal drummers and the "Rock And Roll Train" needs to keep rollin' down the track.
I'm gonna see if I can catch 'em this go around as I've got a feeling this could very well be the last.
Reality is, if that were to happen, it would be the best thing to ever happen to Portnoy since it would finally turn him into a REAL Rock & Roller, since his entire career has been spent in Prog or Unrock bands.
And recent news re: Rudd continues to veer/lurch in different directions. Though I stand corrected (by myself): the judge seems to be at odds with the prosecutor and acted to tamp down what the prosecutor was initially trying to shove through (I am swapping in American terms of law for convenience).
Portnoy would over-fill the sound and crowd out his keepers. Not his type of gig. Wright is Rudd-esque when needed and Slade was fancier, without being distracting. Either would be a good return to form behind the kit live. If only Cozy was still around or, if not for turning out to be such a horrific perv, Holland.
Very huge sidebar: thanks again, Metalboy!, for the suggestion I read Iommi's _Iron Man_. Finished it tonight and it didn't disappoint. Next to Halford, not many that seems to be so consistent, so thankful and gracious, as Iommi. What a tale he tells, and in a way that feels like a personal conversation (likely the manner in which he told it to his co-writer, besides).
Another sidebar: where are those reviews? I am going to hound you on this point till you release a bit of the Metalboy! Expositional Beast.