Drowning Pool singer, 30, dies on Ozzfest tour

Dave Williams, singer for the million-selling Dallas hard-rock band Drowning Pool, was found dead Wednesday on his tour bus between Ozzfest shows. He was 30.

Mr. Williams' body was discovered in his bunk by his bandmates when they arrived at a Holiday Inn in Manassas, Va., police said. The group had played the main stage at Ozzfest on Tuesday in Indianapolis and was slated to perform again today at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Va. Ozzfest plays the Gorge Amphitheatre in Grant County Aug. 27.

A cause of death wasn't known, police said. And Steve Karas, a spokesman for the band's label, Wind-Up Records, declined to give details.

Drowning Pool skyrocketed to fame last summer on the heels of its grinding hit "Bodies." The group's debut CD, "Sinner," sold more than a million copies and has been riding Billboard's pop albums chart for 48 straight weeks.

"Dave was a rock 'n' roll fan who made it to the big time," said E'Lois Thorp, a longtime friend who was a stage manager for one of Mr. Williams' early bands.

"I just talked to him, and he was the happiest guy I'd ever heard, now that he'd gotten to the big show. He was overwhelmed that all these people were his fans. He just loved it."

Mr. Williams joined Drowning Pool in the mid-'90s. Named after a 1975 Paul Newman film, the group already had been performing for several years, but things didn't click until Mr. Williams took the mike in front of drummer Mike Luce, guitarist C.J. Pierce and bassist Stevie Benton.

Dallas rock station KEGL-FM played the group's demo tape, which led to a contract with Wind-Up Records. The label released "Sinners" in June 2001, and "Bodies" became a favorite on MTV and hard-rock stations nationwide. The band was invited to perform on Ozzfest in 2001 and this summer.

Critics often dismissed Drowning Pool as a Pantera clone. But metal fans connected with Mr. Williams' gravelly, shouted voice and angry tales like "Sermon," a song about the hypocrisies of organized religion.

The police spokeswoman said an autopsy would be performed, but it might be days before a cause of death is known.