Alien Ant Farm have unexpectedly ended up back in the news, with the ‘Smooth Criminal’ rockers severing ties with fellow 2000s-nostalgia band CKY ahead of their tour through the UK together – which, as was recently announced, was meant to come to Australia in February 2025. That now hangs in doubt, as AAF frontman Dryden Mitchell has shared on Instagram over the weekend that CKY’s Chad I Ginsburg allegedly assaulted him – leading to the band getting kicked off the tour.
“Chad punched me in the face earlier today,” Mitchell wrote in his statement. “I’ve watched him treat multiple crew members and opening band members like trash through the Europe shows and cause general drama around our camp.” Mitchell alleges further that Ginsburg upended a table and smashed his phone when confronted about his behaviour, and that Ginsburg attacked him following a meeting with CKY’s manager about these issues.
“I… apologize to all the CKY fans for Chad’s behavior,” he continued. “We have zero hard feelings for Jess [Margera] and Elvis [James] in CKY, and are gutted to see them go, but I will never knowingly put myself in volatile situations so this had to end.” Mitchell concluded his statement by telling Ginsburg to “find a therapist” and to “get help”.
Alien Ant Farm – ‘Movies’
Ginsburg, for his part, has taken to his own Instagram account to offer a brief statement in retort. “I had no choice, and [there was] good reason for what happened,” he wrote. “I will always defend myself. You know me much better than that. More info to come. Apologies to the fans.”
The Phoenix, the touring company that had planned to bring out Alien Ant Farm and CKY together in February, have also shared a statement regarding the issue via social media. “We have spoken at length with the representative of both artists this morning,” the statement read. “At this point, it is best to let tempers cool and believe a solution/compromise can be found in the next few days that enables the shows – all of which are selling out rapidly – to proceed as planned.”
Should Alien Ant Farm’s 2025 tour go ahead, it will be their first time in Australia in over 20 years. The group performed in Australia as part of the 2002 Big Day Out, and had been scheduled to return alongside Hoobastank, Wheatus and Lit in 2017 as part of a tour that was ultimately cancelled. CKY, meanwhile, have not toured Australia since they were part of Soundwave Festival in 2012. These were the band’s first shows without original frontman Deron Miller, with Year Long Disaster’s Daniel Davies subbing in as frontman. Ginsburg, the band’s founding guitarist, ultimately took over as the band’s new lead singer in 2015.
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