Update 11 p.m., 8/6/12: Earlier today, Jermont Terry, a reporter from TMJ4 in Milwaukee interviewed Kurt Weins, a man identified as Wade Michael Page's landlord and one time roommate. The two reportedly lived together for a short time in another home owned by Weins across from the duplex Page had recently leased from Weins in suburban Wisconsin. Weins was surprised to discover that Page's new place (on the East 3700 block of the eerily, coincidentally named Holmes Avenue) was completely barren. "I don't know if he'd loaded everything up, if he wasn't planning on coming back," said Weins of Page's empty abode. "That's kind of what I'm thinking." Page down to see that clip, as well as a KUSA interview with Page's stepmother, and vintage footage from VH1, which profiled one of Page's bands, Definite Hate, in 2001 before he joined the act.
Update 4 p.m., 8/6/12: Label 56, which distributed music by End Apathy, Wade Michael Page's band, issued issued a statement this afternoon regarding the alleged shooter, first offering condolences to those affected by yesterday's shooting, and then in an effort to distance itself from the incident, the site essentially condemned the alleged actions of Page, while also making it clear that anything related to End Apathy has been removed from the site.
Statement from Label 56:Label 56 is very sorry to hear about the tragedy in Wisconsin and our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who are affected. We have worked hard over the years to promote a positive image and have posted many articles encouraging people to take a positive path in life, to abstain from drugs, alcohol, and just general behavior that can affect ones life negatively. Likewise we have never sought attention by using "shock value"/ symbols and ideology that are generally labeled as such. With that being said, all images and products related to End Apathy have been removed from our site. We do not wish to profit from this tragedy financially or with publicity.
In closing please do not take what Wade did as honorable or respectable and please do not think we are all like that.
Thank you, Label 56
Update 8/7/12: In the above clip, Page's step-mother Laura tells KUSA that Page indeed grew up in Littleton, but that she lost touch in the late '90s. Page also reportedly attended Littleton and Arapahoe High Schools in 1989 and 1990 under the name Wade Van Buskirk, also the surname of his late mother.
Original post, 10 a.m. 8/6/12: Just weeks after the Aurora theater shooting, one of the most devastating tragedies in our country's history, comes word that Wade Michael Page, the deceased forty-year-old gunman who is alleged to have killed six people yesterday at a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, reportedly has ties to Colorado. Citing an interview Page gave to Label 56 in May 2010, the Southern Poverty Law Center sent out a bulletin this morning, confirming that Page is a Colorado native and white power sympathizer, who has performed in a number of white-power-driven hatecore acts over the years, including End Apathy.
In the interview with the Maryland-based Label56, which has since been taken down, Page professes to having played in a number of hatecore bands over the years, including, most recently, End Apathy, and he talks about how he left Colorado behind at the turn of the millennium with the intent of starting over.
Excerpt from Label56 interview:Are you originally from out in California? How did you wind up moving from one side of the country to the complete other?
I am originally from Colorado and had always been independent, but back in 2000 I set out to get involved and wanted to basically start over. So, I sold everything I owned except for my motorcycle and what I could fit into a backpack and went on cross country trip visiting friends and attending festivals and shows. I went to the Hammerfest 2000 in Georgia, over to North Carolina, up to Ohio, down to West Virginia, and out to California and that's when I joined Youngland.
Although Page claims to have left Colorado around the year 2000, public records indicate that he may have been living here as recently as 2005 in a Littleton apartment complex, where he ostensibly resided after stints in the Army being stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Fort Bliss, Texas, and receiving a less-than-honorable discharge in 1998. More recently, Page was reportedly living in Cudahy, Wisconsin, with previous addresses in Milwaukee proper and Fayetteville, Nashville and Stedman, North Carolina.
According to the group's MySpace page, End Apathy started as a one-man project more than a half-dozen years ago, and was rounded out with the addition of drummer Ozzie Babbitt and guitarist Brent Rackley, both of whom joined the fold sometime around 2008, after having also played with Page in the North Carolina-based band, 13 Knots. End Apathy released a split 7-inch with Definite Hate, another outfit Page played with at one time. GQ profiled the outfit in 2001 before Page was added to the fold, and in 2002, VH1 spotlighted Carolina Sons, Definite Hate's predecessor, which featured Rackley, Page's future bandmate, in its Inside Hate Rock special report.
Although a live recording from Hammerfest 2010 was previously being offered for purchase on the Antipathy Records website for $14, the crude recordings posted on End Apathy's MySpace -- evidently the sole work of Page by himself -- are among the only recordings available online currently. While the music and imagery of some of the other groups Page was reportedly associated with contain more overt racism, the music of End Apathy seems to reflect a more dour, nihilistic slant, particularly songs like "Insignificant," which is built around a refrain of "Your life is insignificant," and "Submission" (lyrical excerpt below), and that seems to be the aim according to the band's MySpace profile: "The music is a sad commentary on our sick society and the problems that prevent true progress," the alleged killer muses on his MySpace page.
Trust is a prelude to betrayal Honesty gives way to deception Compassion is a weakness Honor a sacrifice Adapt to the trying times Or pay with your life Valor is all but pointless When no one is at your side Your heart's and mind's controlled by fear As you stumble through this strife Your meekness is perfected Human values compromised You betray your dignity for this miserable life
The Denver Post, meanwhile, has just uncovered court documents confirming that someone with a name and birthdate matching Page's served sixty days in jail in the late '90s for a DWAI conviction in Denver, and was also cited for driving with a suspended license in Arapahoe and El Paso counties.
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