Wayne Swinny, one of the founding members of the hard rock band Saliva, has died after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
The guitarist was 59 at the time of his death on Wednesday, March 22.
The band’s representative told TMZ: ‘It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Wayne Swinny, the guitarist of Saliva. Wayne passed away this afternoon from a spontaneous brain hemorrhage while on tour.’
Just hours earlier, the band had shared that Swinny was in the hospital’s ICU following a medical emergency.
Bobby Amaru, the current lead singer for Saliva, also shared his memories of his fallen comrade.
‘I’m not even sure what to think or how to feel right now. My heart aches for Wayne’s family, his friends, and anyone who had the joy of being around him. My heart aches for his daughter Nikki. He loved that little girl so much,’ he said.
‘He would go out of his way to make sure you had a good time. I’m grateful that I got to share almost 12 years of my life with Wayne on the stage and most importantly off the stage.’
Amaru went on to describe Swinny as the ‘older brother’ he never had. I learned so much from him and we had a f***ing blast together! I will cherish it all for the rest of my life! God Bless you Wayne. I know we’ll meet again!!’ he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Swinny’s bandmates announced that he had been taken to the hospital after being discovered in ‘medical distress’ on Tuesday morning.
The wife of Josey Scott, the original Saliva lead singer, wrote on social media that the band was in ‘complete shock and heartbreak’ following Winny’s shocking death.
She recounted the singer describing Swinny as his ‘musical soulmate’ and commended him for his winning sense of humor.
Saliva formed in 1996 with Swinny, singer Josey Scott, guitarist Chris Dabaldo, bassist Dave Novotny and drummer Paul Crosby. It release a self-titled album in 1997, then hit its major label debut in March 2001 with “Every Six Seconds.” It was Grammy nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2002.