The unexpected death of Chuck Mosley may have seemed less significant when compared to other 2017 celebrity deaths, but, from an industry standpoint, the passing of the legendary front-man, who’s trademark, rap vocal styling would influence a full generation of alternative rockers through the 80s and 90s, was equally jarring. Of course, his history of substance abuse was no secret, and his erratic behavior was infamous, but anyone who met the man can attest to his warmth, kindness, and relatability; if you met Chuck, you couldn’t help but love him. What made the loss doubly tragic was that he was on the verge of a comeback: after maintaining his hard fought sobriety (following a self-imposed withdrawel to raise his daughters), he was touring nonstop through the US and UK with his Reintroduce Yourself Tour, he had just worked with heretofore industrial super-group Primitive Race to create what many are heralding one of the best albums of 2017, Soul Pretender, and he was set to re-release his Cement album Man with the Action Hair through Dave Ellefson’s EMP Label Group.
Drew Fortier (Bang Tango, Zen From Mars), who played a handful of the North American shows on guitar for Chuck, has now announced that he will be moving forward with a previously planned documentary about the singer/songwriter’s life and his reemergence on the scene.
“I am incredibly excited to tell Chuck’s story,” said Drew, who also directed 2015’s Attack of Life: The Bang Tango Movie, “I believe everyone will be able to get something positive out of the finished project of what will be Chuck’s film.”
Chuck passed away unexpectedly on November 9th 2017, a couple days after leaving a voicemail for Drew… in his best Bane impression:
“I’ve decided to go ahead with the video…I mean, not the video, but the documentary on this one, Chuck Mosley. He seems like a pretty expansive and explosive character. I think he would be perfect for the part of himself…”
Mosley had recently completed sixty-plus dates on his Reintroduce Yourself tour and recorded a solo record with producer Matt Wallace (Maroon Five, Deftones, The Replacements). On November 3rd 2017 his band, Primitive Race, released their sophomore effort Soul Pretender, currently rising up the NACC Radio 200 chart.
The film will be produced by Chuck’s longtime friend/bandmate/babysitter, Douglas Esper, who is also working on a book about their time on the road and in the studio together. “In supporting Drew I hope to give people a glimpse into the beautiful and frustrating mind of one of the most unique, self proclaimed ‘Rock Satellites,’ of all time.”
Drew and Douglas recently launched, facebook.com/thanksandsorrychuck and fans can contact chuck@mosleyvua.com for the project. They are eager to hear from fans, family, friends, and anyone else willing to share stories, photos, audio, and video of Chuck Mosley.
