Mikey Welsh, former bassist for the alternative rock band Weezer, has died. Welsh, who was 40, was found in a Chicago hotel room on Saturday afternoon. The cause of death is still undetermined pending autopsy results, but according to the Chicago Tribune, authorities suspect narcotics were involved.
It seems Welsh predicted the date and place of his death on Twitter two weeks ago. He tweeted on Sept. 26: “dreamt i died in chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). need to write my will today.” He then added: “correction – the weekend after next.”
The Vermont-born Welsh performed with Weezer from 1998 to 2001 and played on the album Weezer (a.k.a., the Green Album), which contained the hit “Hash Pipe.” In 2001, Welsh left the band after suffering a nervous breakdown. (”I took some time to get some help for something and they basically took off on me, abandoned me,” Welsh told EW in 2002. ”The way it went down was pretty lame.”)Â After leaving Weezer, Welsh began a second career as a painter.
A statement posted on the official Weezer web site lauded Welsh as “a unique talent, a deeply loving friend and father, and a great artist,” calling his time in the band “vital, essential, wild, and amazing.” “Mikey was never one to shy away from the absurd, dangerous or strange, and he did so with a gusto few others had,” the post reads. “No one had quite the stage presence of Mikey, nor have there been many who pulled the types of shenanigans he did at shows.” According to the band’s site, Welsh had been planning to attend Weezer’s show on Sunday at Chicago’s RIOTfest. Current Weezer bassist Scott Shriner posted on Twitter, “Really bummed about Mikey. My heart goes out to his family and friends. Such a talent… He made a mark on the world with his art.”
RIP funny man! SNL was never the same after he left!
Wurd 2 ya mutha
I used to like Weezer until I watched an interview on Guitar Center Sessions with the lead singer. He’s all about being famous. He doesn’t care about music or the people he steps on as long as he is more famous today than he was yesterday. Too bad he couldn’t set his ego aside for a couple months to help/wait for one of the people who helped to make Weezer what it WAS.
I’ pretty sure, Rivers also had something to do with Weezer being famous as well.
I consider Weezer to be pop music today. It was alternative back in the 90s. Their last couple of albums really didn’t have any kind of original Weezer feeling to them, or vibe. Maybe with the exception to his signature vocals. As much as I still enjoying listening to classic Weezer material, the new stuff over the last couple of years just really turned me off from Weezer completely. The whole concept of being famous might be important to people, but you can’t put out a decent cd after a few years, I don’t see any justification for that fame. And I am not going to support a band like supporting a brand of soda, beer, or chips, because of that ‘name’. Maybe that is just me. I don’t know. I do understand there are fans that would disagree, but to those I say there are so many great new musicians added everyday, out there, that if you don’t try to seek them out, you won’t know what is good anymore. And to the fans that say there isn’t great music anymore, well, you aren’t going to the festivals anymore. You aren’t trying hard enough to seek the really good musicians and bands out there. And when a band as supposedly great and famous as Weezer has become over the last two decades, to leave any of their previous artists behind in the dust like that to die in some shady motel room in the middle of nowhere, that tells me I was kind correct about them when I stopped being as interested in them anymore. That isn’t me being a “hater” or being overly judgmental. There is something said for value in people and integrity as people, and not just famous performers who had dumb luck to get where they are today.
TL;DR
Jesus dude. You wrote a freakin novel about sh*t nobody cares about.
weezer? weezer who?
I don’t care. I just want my hip hop. my money and my barbie gf man
hey crispy.. f u
Rest In Peace Mikey
Weezer abandoned him. He was right. They just took off. That is the industry.
RIP Mikey, you were my favorite =w= bassist with all of those antics. You will be missed.
Another addict dead! More frequent lately, oh well.
That is just mean.
Second career as a painter? I hope he didn’t paint that mural behind him. That is so bad it gave me a headache. Smart aleck comment aside, I am sure many people are saddened by his death and are sad to see that (possibly) yet another gifted person had died from overdose. (And yes, negative comments can be made and be acceptable because many people are speaking about Al Davis’ death and they are mentioning both the good AND the bad).
I think the painting is nice, but too derivative of Basquiat.
I thought the painting was nice too. Then again it is art and anything is anything so people will have different opinions.
al davis? who the __ is al davis?
Drugs kill. Who knew. Was Weezer ever really good to begin with? Nope
What the hell is wrong with you people? A man has died; do you get that…let me say it again…A man had died…..Has your generation been stricken with a some of incurable disease that decay’s your hearts and souls? What happened to being respectful to the deceased. I mean was he a serial killer, rapist or murder. No, he was a musician that gave his heart and soul but was left empty and found art. Is it because he had a plan B and all you loser have nothing but posting your pathetic opinions of this crap . Grow up you heartless punks…You need to be taken to the woodshed and have some decency whopped into you. There are a lot of good ole 60’s rockers that could still kick the young butts that think they know it all. Punks…..
RIP….. Mickey …may you find the light and the peace that awaits the good souls . God Bless
I agree with you “OLD ROCK @10/10/11″, They have no soul, no heart for a the deceased. They hide behind the keyboards now ranting about someone that had nothing to do with THEM personally…they sit and make ugly comments about someone that died by means of drugs or alcohol and say “they deserved it”?? WHY? Because YOU POSTED it so be it? These Lost people or a generation of mindless drones that bully online…sad little creatures they are. Mikey didn’t harm your family or my family he didn’t steal from me, try to hurt me or my family. We didn’t know what kind of Dad, Son, Brother or Friend he was did we? So Basically, other than the music he contributed to.. he had no impact on my daily life or on the lives of YOU, the UGLY Bully’s that posted on here, CORRECT?? The day will come when you will experience the loss of someone you love, I hope it’s not to drugs, and a kind word from a stranger really does make a difference,I just hope you get a chance to feel kindness when you’re in a dark place..so come on down from that high horse you sit & please try to dig deep inside and find sympathy for others?
The world keeps turning, guy. I mean, yeah, a man died, but that doesn’t mean life stops for everyone else. Is everyone supposed to mope around broken hearted for weeks? That to me seems disingenuous. Does it warrant a full blown character assassination? No, but at the same time, there’s no need for everyone to suddenly become a devout fan now that he passed away.
I just saw them at Riot Fest and they didn’t even bring up Mikey at ALL. I left right before they played their last song, so I could be mistaken, but still I thought it was pretty messed up they couldn’t even pay tribute to one of their former band members. Although they did sound horrible, so maybe that was their way of expressing grief.. who knows. Weezer has been one of my favorite bands for a long time, but I would have to agree with the guy above that said they aren’t alternative anymore… I would say at least half of their music during and after green album is pop-rock and it’s really different for anyone who is a bigger fan of “old” Weezer. Luckily the show was all blue album with some Pinkerton, Green Album, Make Believe and Red album thrown in. They played one song off of Raditude and didn’t play anything off of Hurley so at least they know what their fans want.
I was there too, and at the beginning Rivers dedicated the show to him. RIP Mikey
I was there and I have no clue that he died.
ACESHOWBIZ reported that Mikey Welsh led a lifetime of doing drugs and being “undiagnosed” as having disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and borderline personality disorder. If he was “undiagnosed” who says he suffered from those maladies? Why would he have suffered from “post-traumatic stress disorder “if he was never in the military. Granted there may be a few–a very few –other ways to get it. Don’t listen to pop psychology spouted by the ignorant who claim to be knowledgable. Psychiatry and psychology are quack professions that help some, but not many.. Mikey Welsh suffered from drug addiction that probably included the drug alcohol prominently. Alcoholics Anonymous has a great track record, though no statistics are kept. Hundreds of thousands have quit drinking and drugging by joining AA. Take heed. If you have a drugging and/or drinking problem, join AA before you wind up like Mikey Welsh, wallowing in a bunch of nonsensical imaginary diagnoses from the mouths of non medical persons and quacks. The culprits that killed Mikey are plainly booze and other drugs. AA costs nothing. You remain anonymous. No one knows you are in it. It is free. Pay no attention to what that insane freak Charlie Sheen had to say about it. No, I do not work for AA. I am a recovered alcoholic thanks to AA.
My god you are an idiot.
Yeah no, I’m not really buying that AA speak. I understand that it probably helps some people, but it seems more like cult to me.
Weezer? that was our nick name for my Grandfather.
am I the only one who read the part about how he tweeted about it?? Sounds like a planned overdose/suicide to me
well he was hoping rivers would read it probably
I used to really like Weezer, bu their latest album, Hurley was terrible. I had to struggle to listen through it. River’s voice sounded horrible and I jsut didn’t like ay of the songs. (BTW, I know “Death to False Metal” came out AFTER Hurley, but it was a b-side collection, so I don’t consider it an official album)
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