Static-X reformed in 2018 with the mysterious Xer0 fronting the band. Rumors began to swirl that Xer0 was actually Dope frontman Edsel Dope, which have since been confirmed and discussed by Dope himself. Despite everyone knowing the identity of Xer0, Dope still doesn't want to be known as the guy who fronts Static-X.
In an interview with Blabbermouth, Dope discussed his choice to go by the name Xer0 and to wear a mask on stage. He also touched on his relationship with the late Static-X frontman Wayne Static and touring with Static when he was going solo in the mid-2010s.
"The motive behind it is that I, Edsel Dope, have zero interest in being the frontman, face or [being] known as the singer of Static-X. I feel like as long as we never put another face to Static-X, Wayne will always be the face of Static-X. It's appropriate. That was the number one most important thing. I'll help my friends. This all started in 2014. In 2014, I moved to L.A. I was working on the Drama Club project and I really, really wanted to produce another band and make a great record without me being in the band. I just wanted to move the controls, do what I do and help another band sound great. I had done it with a couple of other bands that I produced, but I wanted to do it with a band of note.
"When I got to L.A., the first thing I did was a short West Coast tour with Dope and Wayne Static. I purposely did this because I wanted to reconnect with Wayne and start the conversation with him about — I'm a businessman and energy guy. It made no sense to me that Wayne Static was on tour celebrating the anniversary of Wisconsin Death Trip, playing the album in its entirety as Wayne Static to small crowds. Sadly, even though it's Wayne Static playing Static-X songs, it's not the same as Static-X. The amount of people showing up to see Wayne Static was infantile to what would have been if it was Static-X.
"I started having those conversations with Wayne on that tour. They went really well. I didn't understand at the time the depth of addiction that Wayne was under. I thought there was a Yoko Ono [in reference Wayne's wife Tera Wray] that was what I was going to have to worry about. I can handle Yoko Ono, but the drug addiction and the fog were what I realized when I was out there with him was this was going to be the biggest challenge. 'I'm not sure without rehab it will be possible.' I really felt like it was because I'm a big believer that if somebody wants it, they can do it. Long story short, obviously, we know what happened. Six or eight weeks after that, Wayne passed away. That idea disappeared."
On the topic of touring with Static-X as the masked frontman, he added: "When it came time to put it on stage and take it on tour, it was, 'There should never be another singer of Static-X that's a person.' The entity idea became where it was, 'Let's put a mask out there.' A lot of it was predicated on the 20th anniversary of Wisconsin Death Trip. We want people to come and have a Wisconsin Death Trip experience. How can you do that without the dude in the middle's hair standing up?
"I couldn't imagine people in the crowd hearing those songs and not getting that. What are you going to do? If it were me or if it were some guy named 'Steve,' are you going to walk on stage with your hair standing straight up? It's stupid. The mask allowed it to have anonymity. It's also funny because that guy standing in the middle of the stage, playing guitar, singing all those parts and in many ways, the entire thing is reliant on that dude doing a great job, but at the same time, it's like, 'Pay no attention to the guy in the middle holding it together. But if that guy sucks or fucks it up, this whole thing is going to sink.'"
Dope also touched on Static-X releasing a new album Project Regeneration Vol. 1 in 2020 featuring Wayne Static's vocals, saying "I'm not a big afterlife person, but in this very room, I have felt him tapping me on the shoulder going, 'Don't fuck this up, man.'"
Catch Static-X on tour with Fear Factory and Dope at one of the dates below.
2/25 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore [Tickets]
2/27 – Portland, OR – Roseland [Tickets]
2/28 – Seattle, WA – Showbox [Tickets]
3/1 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theater [Tickets]
3/2 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory [Tickets]
3/3 – Boise, ID – Revolution Concert Hall [Tickets]
3/4 – Reno, NV – Virginia Street Brewhouse [Tickets]
3/5 – Sacramento, CA – Ace Of Spades [Tickets]
Static-X, Fear Factory Dope & Mushroomhead
3/7 – Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren [Tickets]
3/8 – Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theater [Tickets]
3/9 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom [Tickets]
3/10 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues [Tickets]
3/11 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theater [Tickets]
3/12 – Houston, TX – House Of Blues [Tickets]
3/14 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theater [Tickets]
3/15 – Orlando, FL – Plaza Live [Tickets]
3/16 – Charlotte, NC – Underground [Tickets]
3/17 – Baltimore, MD – Soundstage [Tickets]
3/18 – Philadelphia, PA – T.L.A. [Tickets]
3/19 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza [Tickets]
3/21 – Boston, MA – Big Night Live [Tickets]
3/22 – New Haven, CT – Toad's [Tickets]
3/23 – Montreal, QC – Corona [Tickets]
3/24 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix [Tickets]
3/25 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall [Tickets]
Static-X, Fear Factory Dope & Twizted
3/26 – Cleveland, OH – House Of Blues [Tickets]
3/28 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian [Tickets]
3/29 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts [Tickets]
3/30 – Columbus, OH – The King of Clubs [Tickets]
Static-X, Fear Factory Dope & Mushroomhead
3/31 – Ft. Wayne, IN – The Clyde [Tickets]
4/1 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave [Tickets]
4/2 – Green Bay, WI – Epic Event Center [Tickets]
4/4 – Grand Rapids, MI – Intersection [Tickets]
Static-X, Fear Factory Dope & Twizted
4/5 – St. Louis, MO – Del 3/Hall [Tickets]
4/6 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue [Tickets]
4/7 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues [Tickets]
4/8 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore [Tickets]
4/9 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theater [Tickets]
4/11 – Denver, CO – The Summit [Tickets]
4/13 – Las Vegas, NH – House Of Blues [Tickets]
4/14 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues [Tickets]
4/15 – Los Angeles, Ca – Belasco Theater [Tickets]
