Record label Fat Wreck Chords announced the death of Tony Sly, longtime vocalist-guitarist for the pop-punk group No Use for a Name, today. He was 41. No cause of death has been released.
Sly joined the group in 1989 at age 18 and was its longest-running member. Over the course of his career with the band, No Use for a Name released nine albums, a handful of singles and EPs and appeared on a number of compilations. Their music was catchy and frantically paced, and Sly’s vocals provided strong melodies to complement his staticky rhythm guitar. They released their final LP, The Feel Good Record of the Year, in 2008.
He began a career as a solo artist in 2004, when he released an album with Lagwagon’s Joey Cape titled Acoustic that contained unplugged versions of songs by each of their bands. And, in 2010, he released his first acoustic solo album, 12 Song Program, which found him creating densely textured, moody ruminations on life. Premiering a song called “Via Munich” here at SPIN, he said, “This song is about the inevitable and constant consumption of alcohol that goes along with being on the road. It’s supposed to make tours seem shorter, but it’s a method that doesn’t really work and is terrible for your liver.”
Shortly after that album’s release, rumors surfaced that he would be working on a new No Use album, but that never materialized. Instead, he crafted another solo album, Sad Bear, which came out in 2011, also releasing an LP with a group called Scorpios, which featured Sly, Cape and Drag the River’s Jon Snodgrass, the same year. He put out his final release, Acoustic Vol. 2, with Cape in June.
“One of my dearest friends and favorite songwriters has gone way too soon,” Fat Wreck Chords label owner and NOFX vocalist-bassist “Fat” Mike Burkett said in a statement. “Tony, you will be greatly missed.”
