Marilyn Manson has just returned to the stage, five weeks after a stage set fell on him and broke his leg in two places. With him, he has a brand new bassist.
It hasn’t been a good fall for Manson. Since the injury, he has also had to deal with the rape accusation against his long time bassist Twiggy Ramirez. To make matters worse, the accusation was made by long-time Manson cohort Jessicka Addams of the band Jack Off Jill who has often toured with him.
With Ramirez let go from the group, it was time to bring in a brand new bassist which they have with Juan Alderete. The bassist was originally a member of Racer X along with a number of other local L.A. bands before becoming a member of the Mars Volta from 2003 until they dissolved in 2012.
Alderete made his band debut on Sunday (November 5) at Manson’s Ozzfest Meets Knotfest show in San Bernardino, CA, the first show Marilyn has played in five weeks. Alderete’s debut was overshadowed by Manson’s pointing of a rifle at the crowd. General outrage has been leveled at the singer since the show but he has now issued a statement on the incident:
In an era where mass shootings have become a nearly daily occurrence, this was an act of theater in an attempt to make a statement about how easily accessible semi-automatic weapons are and how seeing them has become normalized. My art has always been a reaction to popular culture and my way to make people think about the horrible things that happen in this world. My performance was not meant to be disrespectful or show any insensitivity. The prop microphone I used on stage was handed to me with the approval of a police officer. My empathy goes out to anyone who has been affected by the irresponsible and reprehensible misuse of REAL guns.
