In July, news that Passion Pit had canceled six of its tour dates riled the several thousand fans who had eagerly secured tickets to see the band -- not least of all frontman Michael Angelakos himself. In a curious message posted on the band's website, Angelakos wrote that "in order for me to ensure that there will be no further disruptions, I am going to take the time to work on improving my mental health."
Now the 25-year-old is clarifying what he meant by the statement. In a lengthy interview with Rolling Stone before the band's performance at Lollapalooza on Friday, Angelakos spoke candidly about his health and said that he was relieved to come clean about suffering from bipolar disorder, which he was diagnosed with at age 18.
(Angelakos isn't the first musician to suffer from bipolar disorder, of course. The list of brilliant musicians who have reportedly suffered from a similar mental health illness include Brian Wilson, Kurt Cobain, Ray Davies, Sinead O'Connor and more.)
"People don't understand that it's not just debilitating; it's all-encompassing. It's something that you have to work on your entire life," Angelakos said.
"My depression was so bad three weeks ago when we had to cancel everything -- people don't understand this. It was so bad I was suffering from something called Psychomotor Retardation, which is essentially where your brain starts shutting down your entire body. So you're sitting in bed and you can barely move."
Passion Pit's new album, "Gossamer," dropped on July 24 and debuted at number four on Billboard Top Ten. For more on Angelakos, click through to Rolling Stone.
