Saliva Guitarist Wayne Swinny Passes Away, Aged 59

American rock band Saliva face a tragedy today, as founding member and guitarist Wayne Swinny has passed away, aged 59, after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

Swinny’s passing was confirmed by a Saliva representative and vocalist Bobby Amaru.

Just hours before Wayne’s passing, the band posted on Facebook, “Our dear brother Wayne Swinny was discovered Tuesday morning in medical distress and paramedics were called. He was transported to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a Spontaneous Hemorrhage in his brain. He is currently in the ICU as we await further news. We ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers at this time.”

A representative for the band shared another Facebook post just two hours ago, writing, “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. Details for the funeral arrangements will be announced shortly. Wayne will be missed by all those who knew him.”

Vocalist Bobby Amaru made a statement for the “incredible human” he knew: “I'm not even sure what to think or how to feel right now,” he wrote, per Revolver.

“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!" 

Amaru added, “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!!”

Drummer Sammi Bishop posted the photo above in tribute to her fallen bandmate.

Since releasing their debut album way back in 1996, Saliva have been blowing away audiences around the world with their blood-pumping brand of rock and frenetic live performances. They played their first and only concerts in Australia in February 2018.