After ending 2015 with the passing of Lemmy, 2016 has started off with another sad death of a vocalist. Budgie, a pit bull terrier and the only original member of dog-fronted grindcore act Caninus, has died. Budgie is the last remaining original member of the project, as Basil, another female pit terrier that was in the band, died in 2011. The band recorded some material last year that will come out this year, then will cease to exist. The act, which was started as a side project of Most Precious Blood guitarist Justin Brannon, released one full length album, Now the Animals Have a Voice, and two split releases with Cattle Decapitation and parrot-fronted grind band Hatebeak. Here’s the announcement from Caninus’ Facebook page:
It is with great sadness that we must relay this message: Budgie, the founder and only remaining original member of Caninus, has passed away. She was 16.
Originally named Shelby, after being thrown from a Mustang and left for dead with a heavy chain around her neck, she was adopted by Belle and Sudz from the North Hempstead Animal Shelter, renamed Budgie and given a new life in Brooklyn in the summer of 2000.
Budgie was a lot like Lemmy. She lived life by her own rules from day one. She was a lover with the heart of a champion. They say dogs teach us everything we need to know about life without ever saying a word – that was Budgie.
A few months ago, Budgie recorded vocals for the long delayed final Caninus release that should see the light of day soon.
We are all lucky to have had her in our orbit for as long as we did. She touched many lives, licked many faces, pushed many people out of beds, stole many slices of pizza, ate many soundguy burritos and, most importantly, inspired many to adopt from shelters instead of buying from pet shops or online breeders.
Float on, Budge.
This was the first we’d heard that Caninus’ lead barker was female. Good thing we all found out about it before Revolver did. At any rate, losing a pet is tough, but so is losing a bandmate, so our sincere thoughts are with Budgie’s owners.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/vF7CB5yltbM[/youtube]
