The perks of pop superstardom are an enticing lure. But what does an endlessly ambitious beginner do when he doesn’t have all that troublesome musical talent and experience to earn it legitimately? For a perpetual also-ran like Canadian musician David Kuntz, it was as simple as telling unsuspecting local police and citizenry he was actually superstar
David Lee Roth.
Dave Kuntz: Hold the nuts
Stopped for driving erratically, Kuntz initially told police he was a) allergic to nuts, and b) Van Halen’s lead singer. After being treated in the ER, he even invited a couple nurses to a nearby club, where he jammed with a band on
Van Halen’s “Ice Cream Man,” before his tall tale quickly unraveled.
Yet Kuntz’s strange saga may yet have a happy ending―local police say they still want to question the musician about the incident, but have no intention of pressing criminal charges. Childhood friend Paul Addis―who briefly took Kuntz, his pregnant girlfriend, and eight-year-old daughter in from a local shelter―insists “I’m not mad at him. He's still a good-hearted guy. My door will always be open for him." Addis also notes Kuntz told him he wanted to clean up his life, while family members say they believe he’s returned to his longtime home of Chilliwack, B.C. to do just that.
For all its bizarre details, Kuntz’s tale is hardly unique. Here’s a look at some other recent would-be rock star impersonators―and some otherwise legitimate musicians who turned the equation inside-out. Odd how often Whitesnake, local constables, and nurses figure into their schemes.
Scott Moughton: Convicted
Last February guitarist
Scott Moughton was sentenced to more than six years in prison and ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution by an Everett, Washington court after being found guilty of 10 forgery- and identity theft-related felonies. Moughton had put a decidedly enterprising spin on his rock impostor career: a musician legitimate enough to have backed Queensryche singer Geoff Tate on his eponymous 2002 solo album, the guitarist subsequently told his apartment manager and others he was a member of Queensryche living off his substantial royalties. In reality, Moughton was part of a major identity theft ring who’d purchased a $70,000 Lexus with forged ID in 2007, even though he’d previously been indicted on federal charges in 2004 after investigators found bags of stolen mail, various driver’s licenses, and forging equipment in his apartment―all ruled inadmissible at the time due to an improperly processed search warrant.
Richard “Rikki Rockett” Ream: Exonerated
Poison drummer Rikki Rockett had rape charges against him in Mississippi dropped last May when he convinced a Neshoba County court that the culprit was actually an impostor and
career criminal named John Minskoff. The 46-year-old musician/former hairdresser born Richard Ream had been arrested on a warrant in March when he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on a flight from New Zealand. A woman claimed she had been raped by Rockett, who was accused of using the Minskoff alias in court papers. “I remain surprised that no member of the educated and savvy press ever Googled the name ‘John Minskoff’!” the exasperated Rockett said after his exoneration. “Had they done so, they would have found out that in 1996, John Minskoff claimed to have been involved with the rock band, Whitesnake, when he lured and kidnapped a 15-year-old girl in Reno, Nevada. Minskoff is a violent career criminal and felon and convicted perjurer with multiple convictions who has admitted to impersonating rock stars to sexually pursue women.”
The real Mel Galley
When former Whitesnake guitarist
Mel Galley (who passed away in July after battling cancer) heard rumors that an impostor was visiting local music venues in and around his hometown of Ripley, England in 2007, telling fans he was Mel and signing autographs, Galley decided to take matters into his own hands. According to
the Derbyshire Evening Telegraph, Mel tracked down the impostor’s address, knocked on his door, and confronted one Ken Grimley, who’d been a fan of Galley’s since childhood. But Grimley not only didn’t recognize his rock hero, he proceeded to conduct a tour of his home for the ex-Whitesnake ax man, and even gave Galley an autograph signed “Mel”! When Grimley finally realized his mistake, the embarrassed impostor apologized profusely, offering Galley a guitar from his collection as recompense. “I found the experience really eerie,” Galley said afterwards. “All I wanted to do was get out of the house. I’m furious this man has been leading his life as me. I don’t wish him any harm, but he needed to be shamed so he can't do it any more.”
Eckenrod (left) and Tremonti
At least one Sarasota bar patron grew suspicious in 2006 when she saw a man identifying himself as Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti sign autographs for two local deputies, who quickly got on their cell phones to brag about the celebrity they’d just met. ‘Why would a rock star be in a local bar?’ she wondered. Sure enough, he turned out to be career criminal
Kevin Eckenrod, 11 years Tremonti’s senior, who subsequently checked himself into the local Ritz-Carlton hotel―and then a three-day stay at Sarasota Memorial Hospital―all charged to Tremonti’s fictional tab. The hospital finally unraveled the scam when the impostor showed up again a few days later using the name Kevin Cahn, which authorities believe may be his real name. An alert ER nurse did an internet search which revealed his past―it turned out that Eckenrod/Cahn was still on parole for a 2003 fraud conviction in Clearwater Beach … for running up tabs in Tremonti’s name! He was arrested and plead guilty in 2007 to two charges of third-degree theft for defrauding the hospital.