Jason Sears (RKL/Rich Kids on LSD singer)
Evan Hulka
"Word has come in that Jason Sears, vocalist of RKL has passed away. A
friend had this to say:
'Santa Barbara local, father, skater, and punk died today battling his
illness. It has been a hard year for 805 crew. 3 RKL members in less
than a year is a huge loss. I knew each and everyone one of them...
each had touched my life in many ways over the last 20 years. Back from
when I was arrested at an RKL show at the Rock On Broadway in SF in
1986 and Bomber tried to put me in their tour van while I was in hand
cuffs, to the time Jason ran off with my friend Natasha for a week and
was MIA in the East Bay... When I moved to Santa Barbara in August 1987
Jason made me feel right at home. To watch all three of these people
rise and fall over the last 20 years has been a beautiful and tragic
expericence.'
RKL, or Rich Kids on LSD was a fixture of the 90s Santa Barbara punk
scene. Two members of the band, guitarist Chris Rest and drummer Dave
Raun, went on to join Lagwagon,
Sears was the vocalist of the band from 1983-1989 and 1994-1996 and was
responsible for the vocals on the band's Epitaph full length, Riches to
Rags. The band split up around 1996 but had reunited in various
configurations 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005. A posthumous collection, Keep
Laughing - The Best Of RKL appeared in 2001.
After his time in RKL, Jason recorded Jason Sears And Mercury Legion
which was released last year.
Our deepest condolences go out to Jason's family, bandmates, fans and
friends."
The two other RKL members alluded to are both drummers: Bomber Manzullo
died of a drug overdose in December, and Derrick Plourde shot himself
last spring.
Hulka
deb...@comcast.net
By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 3, 2006
Fans of the punk band Rich Kids on LSD were mourning the death of
singer Jason Sears after learning he died this week at a Tijuana
detoxification clinic while attempting to kick a drug problem.
According to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia, Rich Kids on LSD was a
hard-core punk band formed in 1984 in Santa Barbara. Sears was the
third member of the group to die in about a year, according to
information on the musical group's Web site.
"They were pretty influential in starting a whole new sound that
bands are still doing today," said Timmy Dir, a friend who toured
with the band in recent years as an assistant.
The band, also known as R.K.L., had a sound that was aggressive and
that resonated among young people seeking an alternative to the
ordinary, Dir said. The group's Web site displays six album covers.
Sears was the vocalist.
Dir said that despite the group's influence in the music world, "they
never reached a very big height due to drugs and (the band's)
breakups."
Sears of Santa Barbara died Tuesday in a Tijuana clinic where he was
being treated with ibogaine. Ibogaine is a drug derived from a West
African plant that can help overcome addiction and eliminate
withdrawal, according to some studies. But other studies indicate
potentially dangerous side effects from the drug, which induces
powerful hallucinations. The drug is illegal in the United States.
"He was hoping that this new drug was going to help him out," Dir
said.
The Baja California State Attorney General's office isn't planning to
file charges against the clinic because Sears, 38, apparently died of
health complications unrelated to the treatment. He had been suffering
from serious skin abscesses and an infection, according to the Mexican
authorities and Dir. He died of a pulmonary thrombosis, according to a
coroner's report.
The clinic does not appear to have a name. It is operated by the
U.S.-based Ibogaine Association.
In a 2002 interview with Thrasher magazine, Sears said the name of the
group came as a fluke.
"It happened that some guy said, 'Ha, those kids will never be
anything, they're just a bunch of rich kids on LSD, man.' The first
party we played we didn't have a name for the band, so we put that one
on the flier and it just stuck."
He also said the name probably cost them endorsements, but the band
members didn't want to bow to pressure to conform.
Dir said Sears was friendly, outgoing and intelligent. He is survived
by his parents and three children, including step-children, Dir said.