ORIGINAL Y&T GUITARIST JOEY ALVES PASSES AWAY AT AGE 63
Y&T frontman Dave Meniketti posted the following message on his Facebook page :
“It’s with great sadness that I write this today. Y&T’s original rhythm guitarist, Joey Alves, passed away at 7:10 this morning at the age of 63. He suffered from ulcerative colitis and other complications that led to his passing. Joey was one of the finest rock rhythm guitarists, and I’ll always remember playing next to him chunking out those monster chords with his classic red double cutaway ‘59 Les Paul Jr. As Ronnie Montrose once said about Joey, “There are rhythm players, then there’s Joey. A class of his own……
He was a fun guy who always played with attitude and conviction, and was responsible for writing some memorable riffs for Y&T over the years. His friendship and presence will be missed. This is a great loss for all the Y&T family and faithful. He now joins Phil and Leonard in rock and roll heaven.
-Dave”
Damn, rough times for the Y&T family.
Add another chapter to the long awaited documentary DVD.
Too much tragedy for such a greatly under-rated band.
The first 4 Y&T albums were, and still are, epic!
Wow. to sad.Being they are a local band I`ve been a fan since the way early years and have seen them many many times. It sucks that the black tiger lineup is only left with Dave as the only one still with us. Great band that never quite got the success they deserved nationally but were a big favorite in the bay area. rip Joey
Very sad news. Solid rhythm guitar player for Y&T. I was privileged to see him perform a few times on the Black Tiger and Mean Streak tours. Hard to believe 3/4 of the classic Y&T lineup are no longer with us….
I was fortunate to have been around in the Bay Area during the golden years of the original Y&T line-up. Many nights we partied hardy as Alves, Haze and Kennemore rocked while Dave stood on tables and kicked ass. As I mentioned here before, I saw the new line-up here in Portland about a year ago, and the songs (faves “Hurricane” and “Black Tiger”) were rendered in such a way as to do justice to memories of my original hometown rock band.
Never was a big Y&T fan, but it is sad when an original member of the band dies so relatively young. God Bless Mr. Alves and his family. RIP.