Photo: Thomas Crane
Saliva founding guitarist Wayne Swinny has passed away at the age of 59. The sad news comes shortly after he was admitted to an intensive care unit due to a brain hemorrhage. Saliva’s lead singer, Bobby Amaru, released a statement expressing his grief over the loss of his bandmate, stating:
“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!!”
His death was confirmed by the band on Facebook, revealing Swinny was found in medical distress on Tuesday morning (21st) and was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a spontaneous hemorrhage in his brain. Saliva were in the middle of their “Spring Mayhem” tour with Through Fire and Any Given Sin and had played a show in Nashville the night before Swinny’s passing. During this difficult time, our thoughts go out to Swinny’s loved ones, friends, and fans.
View this post on Instagram
