O/T: Vince Welnick

[dailyvault]

Just got the very sad news today that Vince Welnick, the keyboardist for the Grateful Dead from 1990 to Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, has apparently taken his own life.

Vince also played keyboards for The Tubes and Todd Rundgren, and I remmeber reading that prior to starting his own band Missing Man Formation, he had taken Jerry's death especially hard.

I know there are lots of board members besides myself who appreciate all kinds of music - only reason I bring this up here. Am having a good thought for Vince's family at this trying time.

 

[Dredd74]

That's fucked up. Vince had alot of problems after Jerry died, Weir kicked him out of Ratdog because he couldn't handle himself and his addictions. I met vince years ago when Missing Man Formation played the House Of Blues, very nice guy, I was a huge Deadhead back in the day, followed them from coast to coast for 3 years. My buddies band Uncle Boogie Pants played with Vince in Chicago only a few months back. Very sad news.

 

[Bleearg]

Yeah it sucks.
Vince had cancer and emphesema but still went on tour in '95.
It is sad the way he was treated. When asked about the GD keyboardist curse, and his exclusion from post Jerry reunions:

VW: What happened with a lot of the other keyboardists is that they get into the lifestyle that comes with that-the money and everything. It gives them all the rope they need to hang themselves. But I had that opportunity a couple of times with the Tubes, and I managed to live through that, so fortunately I played it kind of smart with my newfound fame and fortune. I coughed a pretty good attitude [laughs] but I didn't get into heroin, I never used needles, never used freebase and that kind of stuff. I drew that line as a kid: no needles, no freebase, no heroin and never broke that promise myself

Still...It's not common knowledge, but it is publicly known that I tried to off myself in the RatDog bus in ‘95, right before Christmas, right after The Dead died. I was out on the road with Bobby and RatDog and we came home on our day off and found out The Dead had died. (That the Grateful dead was over) I was completely done in by it, so I picked up a bunch of valiums I was getting for anxiety and took 57 them and crawled up in my bunk on the Ratdog bus. I tried to join Jerry - and failed - and wound up in a taxi cab as a John Doe at the county hospital and wound up in the loony bin for a couple of weeks. So I pretty much hit bottom there and I'm sure that hasn't helped my popularity with Bobby. I think that shook him up so much, and the other members of the band so much, that it contributed to why I am no longer being called to participate.[/COLOR]

Sent alone passed out in the back of a cab to the hospital and checked in as John Doe. Nice way to treat a brother.
How did he kill himself? Are they going to tell?

 

[dailyvault]

So far, spokespeople for the Dead have been tight-lipped. But on a torrent of Vince's first show over at DimeADozen, someone put a lengthy rant from, I think, Vince's webmaster, totally slamming the Dead. Can't say I blame him.

USA Today said there'll be an autopsy this week.