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”
6 Responses
RIP Joey, and incredible rhythm player. There were tracks where I couldn’t tell whether it was Joey or Dave playing on them. They were sync’d as a unit. Sad times for Dave as he’s the last remaining original in a great band that didn’t get it’s full due IMO. I never got to see the original 4 together. Would’ve loved to have seen Leonard Haze perform.