Jay Curley, the bassist for Wollongong stoner rock band Tumbleweed, has died. The sudden news was announced via the band’s Facebook page just hours ago.
“It is with deep sadness that we inform everyone of a great loss in the Tumbleweed family, our brother, friend and bass player Jay Curley passed away suddenly in his home yesterday,” read the post.
“We are still shocked by the news of his death. We hope that people will remember him for his music, his big heart and his total dedication to rock and roll.” Jay Curley was one of the founding members of the stoner rock group along with his two brothers Dave and Lenny. The band’s original drummer Richie Lewis soon became the band’s leading vocalist and Steve O’Brien was invited to be the band’s new drummer.
Tumbleweed become one of the country’s most successful outfits during that time, making regular appearances at Big Day Out, supporting Nirvana on their one and only Australian tour and recording a string of hit singles including Stoned, Acid Rain and Daddy Longlegs.
Jay Curley had left before their 2000 album, Mumbo Jumbo, but returned in 2009 for an appearance at the Homebake festival. In 2013 a reunited Tumbleweed recorded their latest album Sounds From The Other Side, on which they reunited with ARIA Award-winning producer Paul McKercher.
Tumbleweed were recently announced as part of the Young Henrys street festival lineup in Sydney on September 20th. No cause has yet been given for Jay Curley’s death.
Watch: Tumbleweed – Acid Rain
