Original Y&T Guitarist Joey Alves Passes Away
Y&T’s rhythm guitarist from the classic lineup, Joey Alves, has sadly passed away at the age of 63. Joey played in the band from 1974 until 1989, throughout eight studio albums including the band’s debut.
The official announcement came from Y&T frontman and sole surviving original member Dave Meniketti, who posted the following 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”
Dave also posted this short message on his Twitter: “Very sad day. Y&T’s original rhythm guitarist, Joey Alves, passed away at age 63 this morning. A rhythm guitar monster & fun guy. RIP Joey.”
On With The Show is the title of an upcoming documentary on Y&T, and Dave Meniketti shared a brief clip of some footage from this documentary, featuring Joey Alves speaking about his time with the band and the bonds formed between the members. You can see the video here.