Falling in Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke’s former prison bandmate has come forward with detailed allegations about their time together at SDCC in 2009. He shared his account of recording music with the Falling in Reverse singer in a post on Reddit.
Jason Sparks, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for Panik Chamber, revealed his side of the story about collaborating with Radke while both were incarcerated.
“Considering I’m one of the guys who wrote and recorded the song (‘Time Will Tell’) with Ronnie Radke while in prison at SDCC in 2009, I figured I’d throw my hat in the ring and tell it how it happened and clarify a few things,” Sparks said. “First and foremost, I’m Jason Sparks, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for Panik Chamber. I’ll be the first to say I hold nothing against Ronnie. As I say in my TikTok post about this, I’ve followed his career since then and consider myself a fan. So as many of you may want this to be, it’s not a slam piece on Ronnie in any way, shape or form.”
Sparks explained how he had established a music program in prison before Radke’s arrival.
“Prior to Ronnie showing up at the yard, I had spearheaded a music program which was located in an unused side room of the gym,” he continued. “I personally donated $2000 in equipment to get it up and running. To those not in the know, there are some of the most musically talented people you’ll ever come across in prison. We had managed to sneak by a 8 track digital recorder that was built into a Digitech GNX 3rd Gen guitar processor through the property room, because honestly, unless you had prior knowledge, it was there you’d never know. We, Ryan Lewis and I, along with others on various side projects, had written and recorded some legitimately radio-playable songs, but the missing piece had always been a solid vocalist.”
Sparks noted that the collaboration began after Radke joined their group.
“Imagine my surprise one day while watching the news in my cell and learning that the former lead singer of Escape the Fate was coming to prison. I’d honestly never heard of them or Ronnie but hearing him referred to as a rock star certainly piqued my interest.”
He continued, “After acclimating himself to the routine of prison life, we began work on what would become ‘Time Will Tell.’ A lyrically scathing shot at his former bandmates in ETF. We used a riff I had already written, coupled with Ronnie’s lyrics and Ryan’s lead solo. We didn’t let Ronnie in on the fact that we had recording capability until we realized we had a banger on our hands and even then, it was with caution that we sat him down and explained how low-key this had to remain and that under no circumstances was he to tell ANYONE or speak about it over the phones because they are monitored. In the meantime, Ryan and I, being no strangers to drug addiction ourselves began noticing a marked change in his behavior. No judgment just concern for what we had going on and encouraging more showering due to the onion smells. It’s true I paid his debt twice to keep him from getting jammed up and derailing the entire project before it even got started.”
However, complications arose when prison officials discovered their recording activities.
“Unbeknownst to us, he was already under investigation for compromising staff because they were seen watching ETF videos on YouTube in the counselor’s office in unit 5 and told on. … Ronnie, in his excitement, ‘celebrated’ that night and with his inhibition lowered called someone on the phone and bragged about the song,” Sparks revealed. “Obviously, they were listening in real time because of the investigation. Ryan and I got called in to the investigation office, where we saw all our equipment spread out and were grilled about this recording device.”
The situation deteriorated when authorities pressured Radke for information about their recording equipment.
“They took it to Ronnie and threatened him with hole time if he didn’t show them how it worked, and unfortunately, not being schooled enough, he broke down and admitted it wasn’t the one,” Sparks said. “It was a depressing situation, but I’ll reiterate I hold nothing against Ronnie other than his refusal to acknowledge the people who had his back and embraced him in there.”
The recording they made was ultimately lost when the SD card became corrupted during mailing, Sparks stated in his account.
“It was a depressing situation, but I’ll reiterate I hold nothing against Ronnie other than his refusal to acknowledge the people who had his back and embraced him in there. Not to mention that Falling in Reverse started with us 3 during that time with talks of hitting the streets together. I write what happened in there off on the fact he just didn’t know any better or how to call thier bluff like we did . We all got released within months of each other but I knew of no way to contact Ronnie although Ryan tells me they spoke several times afterwards with no hard feelings. Oh, and as for the recording…the fucking SD card Ryan sent out to his mom’s address in North Carolina got corrupted during the mailing process and it along with a lot of other songs from different projects was lost forever.”
These revelations provide new insight into a pivotal period in Radke’s life that would ultimately shape his musical career and the formation of Falling in Reverse.
Wikipedia reported that Radke was sentenced to two and a half years at High Desert State Prison in 2008 after violating probation related to a 2006 brawl involving brass knuckles and a fatal shooting. The prison sentence came after Radke had already been kicked out of Escape the Fate, the band that initially brought him fame in the post-hardcore scene.
During his incarceration, The Metalverse documented that Radke actively wrote music daily. He used his time behind bars as a turning point to plan his next musical venture. This period of intense creativity would eventually lead to the formation of Falling in Reverse, originally conceived under the name “From Behind These Walls.”
The collaboration with Sparks and other inmates appears to have been part of Radke’s broader musical activities during his imprisonment. The Metalverse noted that in 2009, while still incarcerated, Radke used his music industry contacts to create early demos of what would become Falling in Reverse’s material.
Las Vegas Sun revealed that Radke served his sentence in a 12-by-14-foot cell at High Desert State Prison, where he was convicted of battery with substantial bodily harm. He was eventually released in December 2010 and went on to form Falling in Reverse, which has since become one of the most successful bands in the post-hardcore and metalcore scenes.
