Wayne Swinny, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Saliva, died Wednesday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 59.
“Wayne will be missed by all those who knew him,” read a message on Saliva’s Facebook page. “We love you Wayne.”
Saliva, currently on its Spring Mayhem Tour, performed Monday in Nashville and was scheduled to perform in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The band shared news that he had been found in “medical distress” on Tuesday morning and was taken to hospital “where he was diagnosed with a spontaneous hemorrhage in his brain" and placed in the ICU.
Saliva singer Bobby Amaru said in a statement he was “grateful to share almost 12 years of my life” with Swinny. “I’m not even sure what to think or how to feel right now,” he said. “My heart aches for Wayne’s family, his friends, and anyone who had the joy of being around him.
“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.”
Swinny had a daughter, Nikki.
Saliva was formed in Memphis in 1996. They have released nearly a dozen studio albums and earned a Grammy nomination in 2022 for Best Hard Rock Performance (for “Your Disease”).