WORLDWIDE PANIC Sparks Outrage Over Scheduled ‘Gathering of the Juggalos’ Performance as Lead Singer’s Past Criminal Charges Come to Light

Los Angeles-based rock band Worldwide Panic is scheduled to perform at this year’s Gathering of the Juggalos, the annual festival hosted by Insane Clown Posse that brings together fans of the Juggalo subculture. This year’s event runs from Wednesday, August 13th through Saturday, August 16th and will feature performances by Insane Clown Posse, Tech N9ne, Bone Thugs N Harmony, alongside rock and metal acts Mushroomhead, Green Jelly, and Squid Pisser. However, the band has come under intense fire on social media after performer Madd Maxxx publicly condemned them, citing serious charges against lead singer Lane Steele.

On Facebook, Madd Maxxx wrote:

“Seriously though, fuck Worldwide Panic. It’s a shame they slipped through the cracks but some shit crosses a line. If at all possible I’m just gonna be mean muggin them from backstage until it’s my turn but if anybody ever deserved a fuckin Bubba Sparxxx award it’s these guys. I honestly figured it would be easier to Google the news stories about it but the short version is that their lead singer is a sexual predator.”

Investigations confirm that Lane Steele — full name Lane Steele Kozloff — was arrested in 2014 on suspicion of attempting to meet a minor for lewd purposes. At the time, he was fronting the death metal band KAUZE, and the news was reported by Blabbermouth.net & ThePRP.

According to DailyBreeze.com, Kozloff placed a Craigslist ad seeking a “’lil girl,” exchanged hundreds of messages over two weeks with a federal agent posing as a 14-year-old girl, and was arrested at Torrance’s Del Amo Mall. He reportedly admitted to “having a problem” to police.

A few years later – in 2017, Steele would then issue the following “apology” regarding the charges citing alcoholism effecting his judgement:

“This is my public statement in regards to my arrest in 2014. This is by far the hardest thing I have ever wrote.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could please read this.

In the light of Facebook posts that have surfaced in the past few days, I first want to clarify that the incident being talked about is not current, and actually occurred on October 7th, 2014. I’d first like to apologize to my friends, family, band mates and supporters who were forced to get indirectly involved.

I also apologize for this statement being overdue for the last three years. The reason for that is, I was advised against it by legal counsel. I have remorse for a many things, the way I handled people in my past, and the way that I was three years ago. None of what I’m about to say is an excuse for my actions.

I was a drug and alcohol user for 10 years and it impaired my judgement on a lot of things. I had a DUI accident, and I had many opportunities to take control of my addictions and did not.

I was addicted to porn, marijuana, cocaine, alcohol and pills, and I was also very addicted to sex. I would post on Craigslist through multiple accounts, up to 16 different posts a day, looking for multiple fetishes.

The offense that I was charged and arrested for, I was not seeking a girl that age, and to tell you the truth, there was no girl, The alleged “minor” was an FBI agent posing of as this person because there was no girl let alone a minor this is a victim-less crime and thank goodness no one was harmed or hurt.

On October 7th, 2014, I was under arrest. I went to the police station to get processed, and before I went to a jail cell, I was bailed out. When my family picked me up and I went to my dad’s home and explained to him everything that happened and the fact that I had been using for 10 years, we then decided that I should check in, voluntarily, into rehab.

There were tests done that showed I had impulse control issues as well as 10 per cent liver damage, and I was on the way to having wet brain (brain damage due to drinking). I did 1 month of rehab, after which I did 7 months of sober living, all the while court proceedings were underway.

At the point when final court proceedings happened, I was at 8 months of sobriety. They gave me a sentence to return to treatment, again, for one year. The government deemed me not a threat to society and saw that I was trying to better myself.

So, what happened to me did not go unpunished. I spent almost two years of my life in treatment for sex and drug addiction. Furthermore, on top of being in residential treatment, I had to attend a year of court-ordered sex therapy, which I recently completed, while I also saw my own psychiatrist. I also have to complete five years of probation, of which I already have completed two-and-a-half.

Now, I have almost three years of complete sobriety. I attend AA and I also attend Sex Addicts Anonymous. I go to school, I work, I do my band stuff, and those who know me say I’m a much better person and easier to get along with.

In the past, I was tyrannical, driven by selfish desires and I had very little concern of what others wanted or thought. I played almost every show that I ever played, under the influence. I was rude to my friends, promoters, managers, band mates, family, and impossible to deal with all around.

Now when I play shows, I remember everybody’s names, and I make every effort to address my band mates’ interests and concerns in the most respectful way that I can.

In sobriety, one of the steps that you have to complete is making amends to others, and I have made amends to almost all the people close to me in my life, friends, old and new band members, family members, and I suppose the last people that I need to make amends with is the public.

In these bands, there are other people involved, band members, managers, producers, and all of them do not need their name dragged in the mud because of association with the person who I once was. My family has been through enough pain.

That was also another reason why I waited to respond so they can recover. They stood by my side endlessly to get me to where I am today. I thank all of them for helping me be the person I always wanted to be.

As a child I went through many trying times, one of which was being in boot camp. And now as an adult, having to do almost two years of treatment, I can tell you, the only thing that saved my sanity was music.

I owe everything to music, just like many of you when you were young would go lock yourself in your room and play metal and it would be your release and it would save you mentally, it has not only done that for me, it has literally saved my life.

Once I decided I wanted to pursue a career in music, my goal was to help others get through hard times the same way music has helped me. My only intent was to entertain.

I am a different person now, I went through a complete metamorphosis. Today I am a better son, family member, friend and musician. I took a lot of time off to focus on my mental state, and I am ready to resurrect my music career. I’m under no disillusion of fame.

I’m a local guy who’s been in the scene for a long time, and I’m like everybody else in this scene, trying to go further. I don’t think transgressions of my past, which I’ve bettered myself from, should affect the music that I make.

I ask people to judge me for the person I am today, not the person they think about when they read those articles. Thank you.

–Lane“

Word of this has rapidly spread throughout the Juggalo community via Reddit and other online groups, leading fans to present the band with the infamous “Bubba Sparxxx Award”. Historically, this “award” is a brutal form of crowd rejection where the audience pelts the targeted act with anything at hand — ranging from batteries and stones to human feces.

The Gathering’s history of rejecting artists includes the case of Tila Tequila, who infamously suffered cuts on her face after escaping a similarly hostile crowd reaction. These references underscore just how serious the backlash could be for Worldwide Panic if fans decide to take matters into their own hands.

Hopefully, the strong reaction within the Juggalo community and broader online audiences will catch the attention of festival organizers and prompt them to address the situation appropriately.

It is important to stress that Worldwide Panic’s booking at the Gathering of the Juggalos is likely the result of an oversight rather than negligence by festival organizers or Insane Clown Posse. There is no indication they were aware of Steele’s criminal past, and fans are now using social media to bring the matter to light.

This situation highlights the challenges festivals face in vetting artists and the important role fans play in holding performers accountable. Stay tuned to The Mosh Network for updates on this matter if and when they become available.

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