SALIVA‘s founding guitarist Wayne Swinny has died. He was reportedly 59 years old.

The news of Swinny‘s passing comes one day after he was admitted to an intensive care unit following a brain hemorrhage.

SALIVA singer Bobby Amaru has released the following statement regarding his bandmate’s death: “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!!”

Tracy Veal, who is in a relationship with longtime SALIVA drummer Paul Crosby, took to her Facebook page less than an hour ago to write: “Our family along with our SALIVA family’s hearts are completely broken right now. To know Wayne Swinny was to love him and that we all did so very very much.

“We ask that you all please give us time to process this and some space so we can mourn this loss with our family right now. Please no more phone calls. Us along with our kids who loved their Uncle WayWay are trying to accept this right now”.

Also mourning Swinny‘s passing was Kendra Lynnette, wife of original SALIVA singer Joey Scott (a.k.a. Joseph Sappington). She wrote on her Facebook page: “We are in complete shock and heartbreak over the death of our brother Wayne Swinny. Josey referred to him as his ‘musical soulmate’ you wouldn’t have found a guy with a better sense of humor than Wayne. Please be in prayer for his family and all of his brothers in the music industry. This is a huge loss”.

Josey himself wrote: “I have no words. Just the love, and the little moments, and the looks that we shared, just between us and the fans, on stage, after stage, all over the world, that no one will ever know. Playing music, and writing music with a man like Wayne Swinny, for as long as we did, like we did, in all those places we did, is so very intimate. It was a love we shared together, and I will go into eternity holding on to that love, and those memories. Forever #TheToxicTwins”.

Earlier today, SALIVA shared a statement on Facebook in which the band said that Swinny had been found on Tuesday morning “in medical distress.”

Paramedics were called and the musician was transported to hospital “where he was diagnosed with a Spontaneous Hemorrhage in his brain.”

SALIVA was on the road in the U.S. as part of the “Spring Mayhem” tour with THROUGH FIRE and ANY GIVEN SIN and had played in Nashville Monday night (March 20).

SALIVA launched its career in 2001 with the release of “Every Six Seconds”, a double-platinum selling album with hits that include “Click, Click Boom” and “Your Disease”.

The band has toured the U.S. with SEVENDUST, AEROSMITH and KISS.

SALIVA reunited with Scott for a one-off appearance at last year’s Blue Ridge Rock Festival at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

Scott left SALIVA at the end of 2011 after 15 years with the group, reportedly to pursue a solo Christian music career. He was quickly replaced by Amaru, who can be heard on SALIVA‘s last four releases: “In It To Win It” (2013),“Rise Up” (2014),“Love, Lies & Therapy” (2016) and “10 Lives” (2018).

SALIVA released six albums with Scott and tasted platinum success and a Grammy nomination for its first big hit, “Your Disease”.

In May 2021, SALIVA celebrated the 20th anniversary of its breakthrough major label debut, “Every Six Seconds”, with a special project called “Every Twenty Years”, an EP of classic songs re-recorded with Amaru.