Alors que le groupe s'apprète à venir nous rendre visite (le 20 novembre au Forum de Vauréal, en compagnie de Hardcore Superstar), Buckcherry vient d'annoncer le départ de son bassiste, Jimmy Ashurst.
Une séparation manifestement à l'initiative du groupe si on en croit le long communiqué publié par la formation (que vous trouverez en fin de news) et qui est donc une éviction pure et simple, "dans l'intéret du groupe et du musicien".
Jimmy Ashurst, déjà en retrait sur les photos (2ème à gauche)
Le groupe est actuellement en pleine tournée pour soutenir son dernier opus, Confessions.
Pour assurer les dates prévues pour la fin de l'année 2013, c'est Kelly LeMieux (que nous avons vu cette année en France aux côtés de Paul Gilbert) qui prendra la place de bassiste.
Kelly LeMieux (ici lors du concert de Paul Gilbert à Paris en mars 2013)
Voici la version originale du communiqué officiel du groupe :
"With heavy hearts and with great difficulty, we have decided to part ways with our long time bandmate Jimmy Ashhurst. This was not an easy decision, nor was it a rash decision made in haste.
"It's not our desire to air dirty laundry or inner band circumstances that brought about this result. Every band has its issues, and while we have gone to great lengths to minimize them and work through them, this band has had its own issues like any other.
"We in no way wish to put Jimmy in an unfavorable light. Simply put, we felt it was in the best interest of the collective group to find a replacement for Jimmy, for the good of the group as well as the good of Jimmy. This was communicated to him very clearly and with much respect. He was given the opportunity, after many years of freely voicing his extreme level of unhappiness on a daily basis, to step aside. He chose to stay and remain in a situation that not only wasn't working for him, but also was beginning to diminish the collective happiness, creativity, and progress of the band. That, to us, was unacceptable.
"We feel our fans deserve a band in which all five guys you pay your hard-earned money to see actually want to be there and are grateful for the opportunity play music. Regardless of half-assed, sideways social media posts to the contrary, that was no longer the case for Jimmy based solely on his actions and daily conversations with him over the past few years.
"There is no victim here, as we have, individually and collectively, attempted to make this a situation that works for all of us.
"We wish Jimmy the best. He is a great musician. Now, we are moving forward.
"Any delay in getting this news to our fans was simply due to our focus on finding and rehearsing a suitable replacement for our tour of South America.
"Please welcome our friend Kelly LeMieux [FEAR, PAUL GILBERT, MD.45] who will be handling bass duties for the remainder of our 2013 touring schedule."
