Vines Frontman Diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome

Okay, so, we don't know if many of you are keeping up on this Craig Nicholls guy who sings lead for The Vines, but he's really had some pretty bizarre behavior of late. But! He's got a good reason. According to a report in NME, Nicholls has recently been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, a higher-functioning disorder on the Autistic spectrum that renders him "overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights," and provides a tendency towards "soft clothing and certain foods." Social and communicative impairment, along with metarepresentational difficulties, are also characteristic of the Asperger Syndrome affliction.

All this goes a long way toward explaining much of The Vines' recent difficulties, most recently marked by the charges Nicholls faced for allegedly giving the boot to a photographer's camera during a Sydney gig in early May. Though said charges were dropped, they epitomize his rather familiar pattern of destructive (self- and otherwise) behavior that continues to kneecap the band at every opportunity: Following that Sydney gig, The Vines cancelled a potentially lucrative U.S. arena tour with Incubus, and a number of high-profile UK festival dates.

"Nicholls was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome after one of the band's crew members alerted management to its existence, despite years of attempts by psychologists and psychiatrists to find the correct diagnosis," NME notes. (We found it odd that The Vines apparently have a practicing doctor in their entourage.) For further insight into this ailment, we turn to Barbara L. Kirby, co-author of The Oasis Guide to Asperger Syndrome. "It's important to remember that the person with AS perceives the world very differently," she writes. "Therefore, many behaviors that seem odd or unusual are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behavior, and most certainly not the result of 'improper parenting.'"

Nicholls' folks are thus exonerated. As for the fifty or so Vines fans still extant, it will please you to know that a statement on the band's official site insists the dudes will soldier on: "The band has NOT broken up, and Craig looks forward to doing what he loves and lives for-- getting back to writing and recording music with The Vines."