(CelebrityAccess) – Saliva guitarist and founding member Wayne Swinny has died, the group announced Wednesday (March 22) night. His death comes after Swinny was found in “medical distress” Tuesday morning. “It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our brother Wayne Swinny. Wayne passed away this afternoon from a spontaneous brain hemorrhage while we were out on tour. Wayne will be missed by, all those who knew him. We love you Wayne.” Details for the funeral arrangements will be announced shortly, the message said. He was 59.
On Tuesday, Saliva bandmates posted on social media that Swinny was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with a “spontaneous hemorrhage in his brain.” Additional details, including where Swinny was hospitalized, were not released. The band played a show in Nashville, TN on Monday night and had a show in Pittsburgh, PA on Tuesday night. Saliva was traveling the US on the Spring Mayhem tour with Through Fire and Any Given Sin. The band was set to perform tonight (March 23) at Piere’s in Ft. Wayne, IN. The venue shared on Facebook that Saliva had canceled that show.
Saliva singer Bobby Amaru released, the following statement regarding his bandmate’s passing.
“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 was a Guitar Hero onstage with all the Rock ‘N’ Roll swag that most guitar players dream of. Offstage he was a proud father, an Ancient Aliens expert, ,and an incredible human who had zero enemies! 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. He was the older brother I never had. I learned so much from him and we had a fucking blast together! I will cherish it all for the rest of my life! God Bless you, Wayne. I know we’ll meet again!!”
Saliva formed in 1996 with Swinny, singer Josey Scott, guitarist Chris Dabaldo, bassist Dave Novotny and drummer Paul Crosby. They released Every Six Seconds in 2001, a double-platinum selling album with the hits “Click, Click Boom” and “Your Disease.” It was Grammy nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2002.
Original lead singer, Scott left the band at the end of 2011, reported at the time to pursue a Christian music solo career. He was replaced by Amaru, who is the singer on Saliva’s last four album releases: In It To Win It (2013), Rise Up (2014), Love, Lies & Therapy (2016) and 10 Lives (2018). In 2021, Saliva celebrated the 20th anniversary of its label debut with a special project called Every Twenty Years, an album of classic songs re-recorded with Amaru.
Scott wrote: “I have no words. Just the love, and the little moments, and the looks that we shared, just between us and the fans, on stage, after stage, all over the world, that no one will ever know. Playing music, and writing music with a man like Wayne Swinny, for as long as we did, like we did, in all those places we did, is so very intimate. It was a love we shared together, and I will go into eternity holding on to that love, and those memories. Forever #TheToxicTwins”.
RIP.
