Tragedy strikes again as Dave Rosser, rock guitarist and a latter-day member of the Afghan Whigs, passed away this Tuesday after a battle with an inoperable colon cancer at the far-too-young age of 50.
Rosser had been a longtime friend of of the renowned band’s hard-hitting frontman Greg Dulli, and had previously played with him in the Gutter Twins and the Twilight Singers before joining Dulli again in 2013 with the Whigs soon after it had gone through a 10 year hiatus.
Rosser joined the Whigs prior to them recording their big comeback record, 2014’s well-received Do to the Beast, which came just in time for a notable appearance at that year’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.
In November of last year, the band announced a pair of all-star benefit concerts featuring Ani DiFranco, Moby, Eagles of Death Metal, Mark Lanegan, Morning 40 Federation, and more. The phenomenal concerts were staged in December in New Orleans and Los Angeles, in which the outfit performed the entirety of the 1996 record Black Love.
“Dave Rosser has been my close friend and bandmate for over a decade now,” Dulli wrote at the time. “By doing these shows for him we hope to ease any financial stress he may face as he pursues treatment to combat his illness.”
Despite the cancer diagnosis, Rosser soldiered on and continued to contribute to the Whigs’ latest record In Spades, which was just released early last month.
“I just finished the first six months of chemo and am taking a break,” Rosser told Guitar Player magazine around the time the album was released. “I’m feeling pretty good and my spirits are good. I record a lot at the house and have been making a lot of music with friends. I’m staying busy and have purpose. I’ll try to get out and meet the band on a few stops in Europe where they’ll be for a few days.”
The morning after, the group posted a note on its Facebook page, reading “It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our friend, brother and inspiration. Dave Rosser passed away peacefully last evening surrounded by love. Thank you to all who kept him in their hearts. He is forever in ours.
Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna
Leave a Comment