Former TOC Riser Speaks Out After Drummer’s Violent Rage

At first, it was a man in a gorilla suit terrorizing a little girl. Now, musicians are coming forward and saying that there was more to the story. 

The same man that was accused of “invading a home wearing a gorilla suit” and “frightening a 6-year-old girl” is now getting some heat on Facebook after an old video resurfaced of him getting violent with a bandmate. 

What Was The Video?

The video showed Richard Muzick, a drummer, going crazy on a female bandmate, throwing two cymbals at her “with the intent of killing” her, according to the girl in the video. 

The post has since been deleted by that female bandmate, and out of respect for her privacy, we will not share her name. 

After other musicians saw the video (while it was still published on Facebook), they responded, condemning Muzick’s actions and expressing their disdain for working with the drummer. 

One of those musicians was none other than former TOC Riser, Jillian Eliza. 

Who Is Jillian Eliza?

Jillian Eliza won the TOC Riser competition in 2019, and she called the concert “really exhilarating” following the win. She grew up in Buffalo, New York and always dreamed of opening up the show since she started writing song lyrics when she was just 10 years old. Since then, she has shared the stage with major country stars like Kip Moore, Eric Paslay, Cassadee Pope, Parmalee, Craig Morgan, and others. Now, the star lives in Nashville and performs regularly there. 

Reactions To The Violence

When Jillian Eliza saw the violent video of the drummer, she did not shy away from vocalizing how she felt about what she had just seen. She shared the video (now listed as unavailable) and tagged Ricky Muzick on Facebook with a pretty straight forward message:

“Ricky Muzick if you see mine or Sunshine James name on a gig, decline it, if you see our faces at a bar, turn around and go the other way.”

People commented, expressing their concerns and confusion following the original video’s deletion, so Jillian Eliza took the time to elaborate on what she witnessed in the clip.

“This drummer got absolutely hammered, was asked to leave the gig, then threw two cymbals at the female bass player. He could’ve killed her," Eliza said.