Death by Escalator: Grindcore's Josh Martin

Josh Martin, 45, the guitarist of a grindcore band, died after falling from an escalator at a Rhode Island shopping mall on Monday, May 28, 2018. Grindcore is described as a blend of thrash metal and hardcore punk.

It is worthy of noting that a little over a year ago, Chris Cornell died by suicide. On May 18, 2017, Cornell was found dead in the bathroom of his room at the MGM Grand in Detroit, Michigan, after performing at a show with Soundgarden at the Fox Theatre. The cause of death was determined to be suicide by hanging. Cornell was 52 years old.

On the one year anniversary of Cornell's death on May 18, 2018, Alice in Chains paid tribute to him covering two Soundgarden songs, "Hunted Down" and "Boot Camp", respectively, closing their headlining set at the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio. Towards the end of "Boot Camp," the lights on stage spelled out "CC" for Chris Cornell and "SG" for Soundgarden as feedback rang out. Soundgarden was scheduled to headline the festival in 2017 prior Cornell's death. On May 20, 2018, Tool dedicated their entire set at Rock on the Range to the friends and family of Cornell.

Josh Martin of Newton, Massachusetts' grindcore band Axxx Cxxx was reportedly “clowning around and riding the rail of the escalator” at the Providence Place Mall on Monday night.

One eyewitness said he saw Martin as he “reached the downward slope of the handrail, fell backward off the rail and hit his head on a table in the food court below.”

Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements says the victim fell one floor, from the escalator at the movie theater level to the food court, at the Providence Place Mall just before 11 p.m. Monday.

"It's quite a big drop," Providence Police Major David Lapatin said. "Anybody who has been to the Providence Place Mall in the food court, you see the two escalators going up to the movie theater and Dave & Buster's, you know how high that is."

Police said they were investigating the incident and there appeared to be no indication he jumped or was pushed from the escalator.

Surfing the railing of escalators appears to be a form of parasuicidal behavior (a form of suicidal behavior that appears covert and hidden to others - such as driving fast, ingesting drugs at high volumes, taking risking chances in downhill skiing, working in near death jobs, playing with firearms). Was Josh Martin engaged in parasuicidal behavior within days of the hanging suicides of Ian Curtis of Joy Division (May 18, 1980) and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden (May 18, 2017).


There have been a handful of deaths at the Providence Place Mall since it opened in 1999, including other people falling from escalators. A man died in 2006 after he jumped between escalators and fell.

(A man from Charlotte, North Carolina, died inside the Harrah's Casino in New Orleans, Louisiana, on April 7, 2016 after attempting to slide down the handrail of an escalator. The man, James Edward Darst, was in town for a conference. No word on whether Darst was intoxicated at the time he attempted to slide down the rail. A few escalator deaths have been chronicled. See here.)

Martin joined the band in 1996 and jammed with them until 2001. He reunited with the band in 2006 until Seth Putnam (born May 15, 1968), the group’s frontman, died on June 11, 2011 at the age of 43, of a heart attack. He’s also played with other musical acts, including Impaled Northern Moonforest, Failure Clinic, Adolf Satan, and Fxxx.

Born in 1973, he grew up in Connecticut before enrolling at New York University in the 1990s.

He found success with the politically incorrect group after befriending frontman Seth Putnam.

They officially disbanded after Putnam's death.

In November 2017, a video of Josh Martin heckling Gene Simmons (of KISS) during a performance and award ceremony in Providence went viral. Martin was thrown out of the venue. Some have pointed at this incident of evidence of Martin's erratic behavior of late. Others have said it was typical of Martin's personality.

The Hanging of Ian Curtis: A Legacy of Copycats

The public message above is thanks to a source unappreciated by the mainstream media. My observation is that only a few media outlets have been open to talking realistically about suicides and the wave of copycats we are experiencing. Talking about suicides saves lives. Alternative Nation and a rare few others are trying to do just that.

The Legacy of Ian Curtis

All reporting needs to look a bit deeper at what is occurring.

Few make the connection that Chris Cornell appears to have picked the exact date he died for a reason. May 18th is the day in 1980 when Joy Division's Ian Curtis died by suicide, by hanging, in England. May 18th became Cornell's own death date.

Ian Curtis' influence is more far-ranging that realized today. Why won't it include all the hanging suicides recently experienced too?

Credit: New York, October 15, 2007.

Copycats Abound

Soundgarden's Chris Cornell (born in Seattle, July 20, 1964) died by suicide, via hanging, in Detroit, Michigan, on May 18, 2017, which was 37 years to the day after Curtis died.

Linkin Park's Chester Bennington died by suicide, via hanging, in Palo Verdes Estates, California, on July 20, 2017, on Cornell's birthday. Bennington was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 20, 1976.

Late Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley’s mother Nancy Layne McCallum, as reported by Alternative Nation, recently posted tributes for Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington:

On August 19, 2017, friends, family, fans, and admirers held a celebration of the life and legacy of Layne Staley. This year marks Staley’s 50th birthday, also marking the 25th anniversary of the release of Dirt, by Alice in Chains. Staley's actual birthday is August 22nd.

I do not think it is coincidental that two grunge pioneers died on April 5 — Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain in 1994, from a self-inflected gunshot wound to the head, and Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley in 2002, from a parasuicidal mix of heroin, cocaine, and not eating. They died eight years apart, to the day.

Post-Cornell Copycats

According to Alternative Nation, there have been some suicides and suicide attempts since Chris Cornell's death. Most in the mainstream media are little aware of what's happening.

Of course, the most obvious one is Chris Bennington's.

There have been others.

Ginger (born David Leslie Walls; 17 December 1964 in South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England) is an English rock guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his band The Wildhearts.

Ginger played in the legendary South Shields band, The Cups. Ginger saw his first success as a member of the English band The Quireboys. After them, he formed The Wildhearts. In 2014, he also toured with the Courtney Love band.

According to his Twitter account, Ginger Wildheart, as he is called, made a suicide attempt on August 8, 2017. Afterward, Ginger checked himself into a mental health facility.

Meanwhile, Alternative Nation reported that there has been great concern about Sinead O'Connor taking her own life.  

Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O’Connor posted an emotional, disturbing video to her Facebook page on Thursday, in which she says she’s been “suicidal” for two years and she’s “living in a Travelodge motel.”
O’Connor, 50, says she’s wanted to kill herself for the past two years, and claims that she feels totally alone — those feelings exacerbated since she lost custody of her teenage son.
Recorded in a room at a South Hackensack, N.J. Travelodge hotel, O’Connor says that she’s staying alive for the sake of others, and if it were up to her, she’d be “gone.”
South Hackensack Police Capt. Robert Kaiser said Tuesday that officers conducted a welfare check, but O’Connor wasn’t in her room at the time. He said she is no longer staying there and police don’t know where she is currently living. An e-mail sent to her agent wasn’t immediately returned. Source.

There have been post-Cornell and post-Bennington suicides.

On July 29, 2017, Alternative Nation posted "How Teen Imitated Chester Bennington’s Suicide Listening To Linkin Park Is Horrifying":

We reported yesterday on an American female Chester Bennington fan dying by suicide (see "Chester Bennington Fan Reportedly Dies By Suicide In Heartbreaking Story,"), leaving two children behind. Unfortunately, a direct copycat suicide is now being reported by Cronica in Argentina.

The tragic episode occurred in the town of Mendoza Godoy Cruz. A child under 15 committed suicide at home and the body was found by his mother. Researchers discovered Linkin Park music on the boy’s cell phone near his body, and believe there was a “mimetic reaction.”
The child was found by his mother “in the room hung from a belt of a roof hook” according to Mendoza Online. Chester Bennington also hung himself with a belt last week, while his friend Chris Cornell hung himself in May with an exercise band.
Minutes after the discovery of the boy’s body, Coordinated Emergency Service staff confirmed his death and immediately reported it to the Fiscal Office 17 of the police station 40. The parents, according to court records, related the death of their son with the recent suicide of Chester Bennington.
“The suicide of the Linkin Park singer may have worked as a trigger for the decision, since on the boy’s phone they found lyrics of the songs of that group,” the investigation sources told Cronica.

Alternative Nation has not been quiet about the copycats, and passed along information about another fan's suicide note: 

A Reddit user named Canilian recently posted a story on Reddit about a friend of his dying by suicide the day after late Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington.
“The day after Chester comitted suicide, a friend of mine did the same thing. Since then I’ve been falling asleep while listening to One More Light on a near daily basis. Yesterday my brother surprised me with this. I can’t describe how grateful I am.”
He later wrote, “He was like your friend one of the the kindest, most goodhearted person I know. However, ever since primary school he suffered from depression, and never did drugs. Only after three years of walking around with it, he first got therapy and medication. He quit medication after half a year, but then fell back into his depression. When he was 16, he yet again started taking medication, this time for two years. After those two years, he had to try to live without them again. While medicines make you ‘feel less sad’, they also make you ‘feel less happy’. He smiled a lot, but only rarely did his eyes smile with him.
That was last summer. Ever since I have seen my friend really happy a couple times, I saw him actually enjoy life for once. He got tipsy for the first time, attended some parties and made some good memories. However, he never told us about the bad side of quitting medication. He still suffered, but did not share this with anyone.
Then on the 21st of July, he couldnt do it anymore. He left me and a couple others small letters, and even shared his Meme folder with another friend. I have not managed to deal with it yet properly, as I am still finishing up my studies. However, I know I will after that. For me personally it really helped that in the end, it was his choice.
It sucks that he is dead. It really does. But I wouldnt want him to live a life full of suffering. They tried everything, therapy, medication, and he had friends around him.
In his letter, he made clear he wanted Human, by Rag ‘n Bone man to be played at his cremation. He did not want people to be mad, nor to blame him. It was his choice after all.
Sleep well buddy. I hope you finally found your rest.”

Sensationalized graphic details of suicides tend to cause modeling of future suicides. It is obvious the hanging methods of Cornell and Bennington are resulting in a wave of suicides and suicide attempts. Awareness is key, and perhaps Alternative Nation is the only music-oriented resource documenting this. People need help, and professionals should be prepared for what may be ahead in the coming week. Remember, August 22 is Layne Staley's birthday.

I am clear in The Copycat Effect that this lethal form of behavior contagion is dangerous. People still are trying to downplay it by saying that there were no wave of copycat suicides in the wake of Kurt Cobain's death. The reality is more chilling.

What's past is prologue. ~ William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act 2, Scene I.

See also

Death Countdown to August 22/25

Grunge is Suicide

Will Grunge Suicide Copycats Continue? 

Linkin Park's Bennington Hangs Self on Cornell's Birthday 

August 21-22: An Eclipse, Disasters, and Suicides?

The Order of the Pug: Mogs, Grunge, and Hanging Suicides

Grunge's Copycat Carnage 

Chris Cornell's hanging suicide

Death Countdown to August 22/25

Everyone is waiting for August 21, 2017, for the Solar Eclipse. I'm more worried about the next day.

There are now elaborate Hopkinsville, Kentucky celebrations planned. These are in conjunction with the solar events, because in 1955, on August 21, the Kelly-Hopkinsville creature attack happened.

The Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter is a favorite among UFOlogists and even played a role in the making of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It's also the inspiration for the Kelly Little Green Men Days Festival, held annually since 2011.
This year's festival, of course, has an added component: The full solar eclipse will arrive on the 62nd anniversary of the invasion and some wonder if the UFO will return under cover of darkness at 1:24 p.m. Source.

The Kelly creatures seem to have also inspired the look of the Gremlins in the movie of the same name.

Newsweek and other media outlets have noted that "THE SOLAR ECLIPSE COULD BRING LIZARD PEOPLE, SOUTH CAROLINA EMERGENCY OFFICIALS WARN (REALLY)."

South Carolina does have a history with lizard men...and the text accompanying the map, which graphed eight lizard-man sightings, suggested the department was somewhat serious with its post. It read: "This historical map is in response to recent media reports about possible paranormal activity associated with the upcoming total eclipse. SCEMD does not know if Lizardmen become more active during a solar eclipse, but we advise that residents of Lee and Sumter counties should remain ever vigilant." Source.

It appears much of this was begun with the Sunquatch map, as created by Joshua Stevens.

Bigfoot

Bigfoot

Bigfoot

UFOs

And, of course, Waffle Houses.

***

After August 21, 2017, is history, my concern is for suicides on August 22nd. I'm not kidding. It is the anniversary of Layne Staley's birthday.

Now, this week, a new Staley tribute has appeared. Interesting timing.

As I've noted in "Grunge is suicide," "Will Grunge Suicide Copycats Continue?," "Linkin Park's Bennington Hangs Self on Cornell's Birthday," and "August 21-22: An Eclipse, Disasters, and Suicides?", we appear to be building up to something. Who knows what?

It seems like there may be more "Grunge's Copycat Carnage," in store, especially after Chris Cornell's hanging suicide was copycatted in Chester Bennington's hanging. And Bennington tied it to Cornell's birthday. 

Please note. These Grunge artists are tuned into death dates, birthdates, and important anniversaries.

And copying each other's behaviors.

Just to review:

August 22 is Layne Staley's birthday.

Layne Staley was born August 22, 1967. He was a member of Alice in Chains, Mad Season, Class of '99, Alice N' Chains, and Sleze. Staley died due to a parasuicidal combination of drugs and not eating, resulting in his death on April 5, 2002. It is to be recalled that April 5th is the anniversary date from 1994, when Kurt Cobain died by suicide by gunshot. Staley and Cobain. Cobain and Staley. A strong Grunge link.

August 25 is Mia Zapata's birthday.

Mia Zapata was born August 25, 1965. She was the singer of the Seattle indie band The Gits. Zapata spent her childhood in Louisville, Kentucky, and founded the Gits in Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 1986. She relocated to Seattle and became a powerful female voice in the Grunge movement in the area.

On July 7, 1993, Zapata was murdered in Seattle.

At around 2:00 a.m. on July 7, 1993, Mia Zapata left the Comet Tavern in the Capitol Hill area of Seattle. She stayed at a studio space in the basement of an apartment building located a block away, and briefly visited a friend who lived on the second floor. This was the last time she was seen alive. She may have walked a few blocks west, or north to a friend's apartment, or may have decided to take the long walk south to her home.

She was beaten, strangled, and raped in the Central District of Seattle. It is believed she encountered her attacker shortly after 2:15 a.m. Her body was not initially identified as she had no identification on her when she was found.

Zapata’s body was found with her arms out and her legs crossed, and she was placed between two Roman Catholic buildings on either side of the street. Zapata’s body was found, as Unsolved Mysteries noted, "lying face up in an almost Christ-like pose."

In "Joan Jett and the Jesus Christ Pose," I detail how Joan Jett in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent takes on the pose that Zapata was found in her (Jett's) role on that program.

"Joan Jett sings the music of murdered lead singer Mia Zapata"

Evil Stig = Gits Live

Let's see what happens on August 22nd. Or August 25th. 

In the meantime, save a life. Talk to your friends who are suicidal.

Grunge is Suicide

The essence of some things are one in the same.

Grunge is suicide. Suicide is grunge. Grunge began with a suicide.

Rich Larson's thoughts in "It's Not What You Think" are worth quoting, and the full article should be read completely. Here is one passage that is instructive.

A truer historical insight has never been written.

Temple of the Dog

Rich Larson's essay was written after Chris Cornell hanged himself but before Chester Bennington had done the same thing on Cornell's birthday. It captures his generation's anguish. It looks for peace and understanding. Read it all. 

The gravestone of Kristen Pfaff of Hole

My previous writings here at Twilight Language sync with Larson's.

It's not too late. It's not about blaming. Grunge began with a suicide.

Kurt Cobain thought it would end with a suicide.

He was wrong.

Even Nirvana lives on. Just ask the Foo Fighters.