Saliva Guitarist Wayne Swinny Dies at 59 from Brain Hemorrhage

Saliva guitarist Wayne Swinny passed away Wednesday, March 22nd at age 59 after suffering a brain hemorrhage. His death has been confirmed by the band’s representative, as well as its singer, Bobby Amaru.

Swinny was a founding member of the band and remained in the band from the time of its formation in 1996 until his death. 

Before the news of Swinny’s death, the band wrote on its 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.”

On Wednesday, a representative for the band said, “It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Wayne Swinny, the guitarist of Saliva. Wayne passed away this afternoon from a spontaneous brain hemorrhage while on tour.”

Singer Amaru shared, “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!!”