John “Blackie Onassis” Rowan, former drummer in alt-rock band Urge Overkill, has died at 57.
The news came late Wednesday via a statement on the band’s Instagram account. “Urge Overkill is saddened to report that Blackie has passed away. Please respect our privacy at this time. We are sending much love to his family and all his fans. We know he will be missed.”
A cause of death was not disclosed.
“He was a wild card and a force of nature,” wrote actor-musician Jack Black. “Gonna miss him.”
A Chicago native, Rowan joined Urge Overkill in 1991 and played (and sang) on the albums The Supersonic Storybook, Saturation and Exit The Dragon. He also played on the band’s cover of Neil Diamond’s “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” for the Pulp Fiction soundtrack.
Rowan battled a heroin addiction (on “The Mistake” he sang: “Be careful what you take, you’ve got a lot at stake / More than you’ll ever know, beware the overdose”) and was arrested for possession in 1995. (Charges were eventually dropped.)
Urge Overkill split up in 1997 but reunited in 2004 without Rowan.
He is survived by his mother Mary, sister Anne and brother Tim.