David "Ziggy" Sigmund — the Canadian guitarist known best for his work with recently reunited Vancouver proto-grunge outfit Slow and industrial alt-rockers Econoline Crush — has died. News of Sigmund's passing was shared online this afternoon via Econoline Crush's social media channels, though a cause of death was not revealed.
Econoline Crush vocalist Trevor Hurst wrote that Sigmund's "sudden passing has taken all of us by surprise" in sharing the news, calling his late bandmate "a brilliant musician, creative genius, entertaining conversationalist and the best hang. My life is forever changed. I want to thank everyone for the kind messages of support during this difficult time."
Sigmund joined Thomas Anselmi, Christian Thorvaldson, Stephen Hamm and Terry Russell in Slow shortly after the group's formation in Vancouver in the mid-'80s.
The band delivered single "I Broke the Circle" and EP Against the Glass in 1985 through Vancouver's Zulu Records, and would build a name for themselves through riotous live performances before breaking up in 1987. Thirty years later, Slow would reunite, reissuing Against the Glass via Toronto's Artoffact Records in 2017.
In early 2018, Sigmund shared with Exclaim!'s Jason Schneider that "the likelihood of this reunion [with Slow] was astronomically impossible," explaining, "First of all, the fact that all of us are still alive is pretty amazing. In my case, I'd pretty much forgotten about Slow ten years ago when I was living in L.A. Then I had a serious car accident that really fucked up my spine, although I could still play guitar. My wife brought me back to Vancouver, but we split up soon after that. I was really at the lowest point in my life — homeless, in a lot of pain, thinking about killing myself — when one day [vocalist Anselmi] calls and says, 'This sounds crazy, but I think we should put Slow back together.'"
"I've played in a million bands since Slow, but from the first note of that first jam session back together, it felt like picking up a conversation mid-sentence," Sigmund continued. "What I'm also sensing is that this isn't just something that only I need at this moment; so many other people need this too. Obviously, back then, we didn't think we were important, it was just what we did. So the intense passion from people that we felt as soon as we announced the reunion has been a big part of this too."
Sigmund also played six-string with Vancouver outfit the Scramblers. An archival album of that group's blues-infused hard rock material, Good Gone Bad, was released in 2005 via Heart of Texas Records.
Sigmund would go on to join Econoline Crush, first appearing on the band's 1997 Sylvia Massy-produced LP The Devil You Know. Single "All That You Are (X3)," on which Sigmund earned a writing credit, earned the group greater exposure in the United States, while remixes of the album's "Sparkle and Shine," "Nowhere Now" and "Surefire" were featured in the 1999 PlayStation game Sled Storm.
Third album Brand New History followed in 2001, produced by fellow Canadian Bob Rock, who had previously enlisted Sigmund as a touring guitarist for his short-lived Rockhead outfit. Econoline Crush would go on hiatus in 2002, and would reunite without Sigmund in 2006. After fourth full-length Ignite arrived in 2008, it was announced that Sigmund had rejoined the band in 2010.
Watch Sigmund perform with Slow, the Scramblers and Econoline Crush below.
Econoline Crush vocalist Trevor Hurst wrote that Sigmund's "sudden passing has taken all of us by surprise" in sharing the news, calling his late bandmate "a brilliant musician, creative genius, entertaining conversationalist and the best hang. My life is forever changed. I want to thank everyone for the kind messages of support during this difficult time."
Sigmund joined Thomas Anselmi, Christian Thorvaldson, Stephen Hamm and Terry Russell in Slow shortly after the group's formation in Vancouver in the mid-'80s.
The band delivered single "I Broke the Circle" and EP Against the Glass in 1985 through Vancouver's Zulu Records, and would build a name for themselves through riotous live performances before breaking up in 1987. Thirty years later, Slow would reunite, reissuing Against the Glass via Toronto's Artoffact Records in 2017.
In early 2018, Sigmund shared with Exclaim!'s Jason Schneider that "the likelihood of this reunion [with Slow] was astronomically impossible," explaining, "First of all, the fact that all of us are still alive is pretty amazing. In my case, I'd pretty much forgotten about Slow ten years ago when I was living in L.A. Then I had a serious car accident that really fucked up my spine, although I could still play guitar. My wife brought me back to Vancouver, but we split up soon after that. I was really at the lowest point in my life — homeless, in a lot of pain, thinking about killing myself — when one day [vocalist Anselmi] calls and says, 'This sounds crazy, but I think we should put Slow back together.'"
"I've played in a million bands since Slow, but from the first note of that first jam session back together, it felt like picking up a conversation mid-sentence," Sigmund continued. "What I'm also sensing is that this isn't just something that only I need at this moment; so many other people need this too. Obviously, back then, we didn't think we were important, it was just what we did. So the intense passion from people that we felt as soon as we announced the reunion has been a big part of this too."
Sigmund also played six-string with Vancouver outfit the Scramblers. An archival album of that group's blues-infused hard rock material, Good Gone Bad, was released in 2005 via Heart of Texas Records.
Sigmund would go on to join Econoline Crush, first appearing on the band's 1997 Sylvia Massy-produced LP The Devil You Know. Single "All That You Are (X3)," on which Sigmund earned a writing credit, earned the group greater exposure in the United States, while remixes of the album's "Sparkle and Shine," "Nowhere Now" and "Surefire" were featured in the 1999 PlayStation game Sled Storm.
Third album Brand New History followed in 2001, produced by fellow Canadian Bob Rock, who had previously enlisted Sigmund as a touring guitarist for his short-lived Rockhead outfit. Econoline Crush would go on hiatus in 2002, and would reunite without Sigmund in 2006. After fourth full-length Ignite arrived in 2008, it was announced that Sigmund had rejoined the band in 2010.
Watch Sigmund perform with Slow, the Scramblers and Econoline Crush below.