Shinedown bassist Eric Bass to step away from tour due to “serious mental health crash”
Shinedown bassist Eric Bass won’t be joining the band for the start of their headlining North American tour after experiencing a “pretty serious mental health crash”.
The hard rock band is due to kick off their tour in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, on July 11th, and run all the way until August 23rd in Springfield, Illinois, with support from Cambria and Coheed.
However, as shared via a video posted to the band’s social media channels, Bass won’t be joining for at least the first leg due to a recent mental health episode.
Addressing Shinedown’s fans, Bass shared, “I had a pretty serious mental health crash, I guess you could say, a few weeks ago. I don’t really feel it’s the wise thing for me to do to go out on tour right now.”
He went on, “I debated whether or not to make this announcement at all and just not be there and then show back up when it’s time.”
However, as “mental health [is] such a thing that I have championed and the band has championed, I thought that it would be not the best look to maybe seem like I’m ashamed of it.”
Looking ahead, Bass couldn’t quite pinpoint when he’d be back on the road: “I don’t have a timeline for that right now. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later, but I want to make sure that, you know, that I’m safe.”
The musician also revealed that he is currently undergoing treatment at the Medical University of South Carolina; his form of treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), is usually administered for sufferers of major depression.
Despite the unfortunate circumstance, Bass concluded that he is “feeling way better, so that’s good.. “But I just want everyone to know that I won’t to be out there. It’s killing me to not be there.”
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