HR to undergo brain surgery; Harley Flanagan releasing LP to benefit Dr. Know
Last year, a GoFundMe campaign was launched for Bad Brains vocalist HR, who has been suffering from a neurobiological disorder, and now he has scheduled brain surgery for this month, Loudwire reports.
“[My wife] took me to the hospital so I would learn about what was going on in my head, because I was experiencing bad headaches at the time,” HR told Loudwire. “And the doctor came to me and he said we’re going to have a surgery.” The surgery is scheduled for February 21.
HR and Bad Brains have been up to a lot lately. HR is the subject of a new biography, Finding Joseph I: An Oral History of H.R. from Bad Brains, which also has an accompanying film, and he recently appeared at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn for a screening of the film, a book signing, and a Q&A with HR. Backstory Events got a video of the Q&A, where HR revealed there might be new Bad Brains music on the way. “You maybe didn’t hear it here first, but you heard it here early,” the book’s author Howie Abrams said. “It looks like there’s going to be some new Bad Brains music this fall, and maybe some shows.” Watch the video below.
Meanwhile, you may remember that Bad Brains’ Dr. Know is also recovering from illness. In his case, it’s a cardiac arrest he suffered in 2015. To help benefit Dr. Know, fellow hardcore musician Harley Flanagan (ex-Cro-Mags) is releasing a record with his new band HARD-CORE. There’s a PledgeMusic campaign set up, and Harley writes:
When Gary Miller A/K/A Dr Know the guitarist for the Bad Brains got sick I wanted to do something to help him, so I reached out to my old band members to see if we could do a benefit or a reunion show, but that didn’t work out. Dr. Know and the Bad Brains were a huge influence on my music, on the Cro-Mags and close personal friends of mine and my family. I am releasing the first song from my new LP coming out this year to support Dr Know and his family.
Head here to watch Harley further discuss the project in a video.
And here’s the video of HR’s Q&A at Saint Vitus:
