Rockers Weezer have paid tribute to their former bassist Mikey Welsh after his death in Chicago. Photo / Supplied
Former Weezer bass player Mikey Welsh, who also found success in his second career as an artist, has died in a Chicago hotel room.
Chicago police spokeswoman Laura Kubiak said Welsh was supposed to check out of the Raffaello Hotel at 1pm on Saturday.
When he didn't, hotel staff went to his room, entered it and found him unconscious and not breathing, Kubiak said.
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said autopsy results will be available later today. Kubiak said there's nothing to indicate foul play.
Welsh, 40, of Burlington, Vermont, performed with Weezer from 1998 to 2001, leaving after suffering a nervous breakdown, according to the band's website. He eventually established himself in a second career as a painter.
"I'm taking a break from music," he told MetroWest Daily News in 2002.
"I really feel the need to reinvent myself and move on, and I couldn't be happier painting. Music is still an important part of my life, but I really have no desire to actually play it."
Weezer posted a message on its website, saying Welsh's time with the band was "vital, essential, wild, and amazing".
"A unique talent, a deeply loving friend and father, and a great artist is gone, but we will never forget him," the band said.
"Mikey was never one to shy away from the absurd, dangerous or strange, and he did so with a gusto few others had. No one had quite the stage presence of Mikey, nor have there been many who pulled the types of shenanigans he did at shows.
"If it rocked, he had to try it - and he always found a way to pull it off."
Welsh had planned to attend Weezer's performance at Riot Fest in Chicago.
"I'm excited to see the boys, hang out and have some fun," he wrote on his Facebook page earlier this month.
- AP
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