WARRANT – Original Vocalist Jani Lane Dead at 47

Den Headz, the world of music mourns the death of original WARRANT vocalist, Jani Lane,(born John Kennedy Oswald), who was found dead Thursday at a hotel in Woodland Hills, California. No exact cause of death has been determined. Lane was 47 years old.

After shooting to the top of the Rock N Roll music heap in the late 80’s and into the 90’s with hits like “Cherry Pie”, “Down Boys” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, the unapologetic glam metal act, who had sold millions of albums at one time, ultimately found themselves on the downslide due to the sudden popularity of grunge music. Lane would try a shot at a solo career but nothing ever came from it. Jabberwocky, his solo debut never saw an official release.

Appearing on VH1’s HEAVY: The Story Of Metal – Episode 3: Looks That Kill, Lane did not hold back in stating his hatred for the band’s famous “Cherry Pie” song, stating that “I could shoot myself in the fucking head for writing that song.”

Later, Lane would clarify his feelings:

“Can I clear the air on that? They [VH1 producers] just caught me on a bad day. It was a bad moment — I was going through a divorce, my mom had just passed away, all this stuff was going on — and they sit me down in a chair and wanna start grilling me with questions, and I didn’t wanna be there, so…You know, push that interview to the side, I’m happy as a clam to have written a song that is still being played and still dug by so many people. It’s hard enough to write a song, let alone one that sticks around.

Lane who suffered from a serious drinking addiction had been arrested for DUI’s twice in recent years and had even tried one final failed reunion with Warrant in 2008.

In April of this year, Lane revealed to fans that he’d been working on a new EP and planned to also release the long-awaited Jabberwocky album later in 2011.

Says Lane, “I hope you are all doing well… I will be back on the road by June. In the mean time I’m staying holed up in my studio writing for myself and other artists. I will be releasing a remastered and possibly rerecorded version of Jabberwocky by September. Tired of hearing basterdized versions floating all around the world… guess its time to put it out there properly.

I’ll also be releasing a 5-6 song EP on my new website www.janilane.net . This is, in my humble opinion, some of the best songs I’ve ever written (I’m not the only one who has said this)! I’m planning a Radio Head type experiment where I will make the entire download free, give you a chance to check it out and several ways to kick me back what you think its worth… or tell me it sucks and to go back to the drawing board! Hope you all have a great spring break and see you this summer!!”

http://www.warrantweb.net/

*****update**** Police have released an official statement on Lane’s death:

“On August 11, 2011, patrol officers from Topanga station responded to a 9-1-1call of a death investigation in Woodland Hills.

At around 5:30 p.m., Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics arrived to the 20100 block of Ventura Boulevard, immediately followed by Topanga Area officers. When emergency personnel arrived, the Fire Department pronounced the death of a 47-year-old man, later identified as Jani Lane, the lead singer of the popular rock band WARRANT.

The cause of death is unknown and the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office is conducting an investigation into Mr. Lane’s death.”