Former SUICIDAL TENDENCIES Bassist BOB HEATHCOTE Dies at 58

Previous SUICIDAL TENDENCIES bass guitarist Bob Heathcote has passed away at the age of 58 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

beto‘s death was confirmed by his son. chris heathcotewho wrote in his Facebook page: “My father Bob Heathcote has left this earth after 58 years and almost two months, because of a motorcycle accident. I can’t put words together other than the fact that this is a loss I will hardly recover (if I ever do), and the fact that he was a hardworking father who raised five children, including me. His interests included music, travel, racing cars, and attending the racetracks. He was also a supporter of Dodgers.

“In addition to his work in the technology and photography industries, Dad gained a bit of publicity in the late ’80s as the bassist for the legendary punk/metal act. SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. His mandate with ST lasted only one album, the epic records release “How will I laugh tomorrow when I can’t even smile today?”that generated the hits “Journey in the Brain” and the title track “How will I laugh tomorrow?”. Those two songs got airplay from ‘Ball of Headbangers’ in mtv and active rock radio stations, including the defunct and legendary Long Beach-based radio station 105.5 KNAC. After that album, he left ST and the band would replace it with future METALLIC bass guitarist Roberto Trujillo.

“Each and every moment that I have shared with my father will remain forever as a pleasure.

“Thank you dad for everything you did for me and my family. I will miss not only your sharp sense of humor, but you and I doing many things that we loved to do together, like talking or listening to music, traveling, going to the beach, going to Mexican restaurants, attending Slacker games etc.

“RIP Robert MonroeHeathcote
May 27, 1964 – July 24, 2022″

In 2009, beto said to suicidal maniac blog on how he came to join SUICIDE: “amery smith and I went to school together in Westchester, California. I remember one of the first times I played with Amery: after school I took the public bus with my bass and a small amp, pushed on my skateboard, to Worth‘s place in Playa Del Rey. At that time he was playing drums for his sister. Just the two of us played for years, from time to time with Rick Battson and other guitarists. After Amery United SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and they made the first record, they went on tour. Later I traveled a bit with him and the band myself as a sound engineer. Professionally, he had been doing live sound, seemingly forever for many Los Angeles bands, rather than playing bass. My first real engineering gig was the big show at the Olympic Auditorium where SUICIDAL TENDENCIES the headline is over SPICY RED CHILLIES and many others. That show was a revelation for me and my introduction to the punk scene, really. As for my way of playing, I liked to play with Amery Y Rick Battson but he never went anywhere professionally. We never really tried to do anything but practice in that old garage. We always seemed to be looking for a singer to come in and give us direction. Later, although I don’t remember how we met, I started to play a lot with rocky george in a cover band playing songs from the SCORPIONS, PRIEST OF JUDAS Y MOTOR HEAD. Rocky It inspired me because I didn’t just play rock/metal. We listen to a lot of jazz and fusion and Frank Zappa. I played a lot with Rocky With sterling roberts on drums one day I heard ST they were looking for a new guitarist for their second album and I told them Rocky I should audition. A few days later Rocky I was in the band. Shortly after amery smith Y Todd Moyer they were doing this project called SLAM UNCLE and I worked with them for about six months doing the pre-production of an album. mike muir listened to our tape and got us a record deal. I was very happy to finally have a casual record for myself in a real studio. But only a couple of days later Rocky He called me and asked if I was interested in playing with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES because Muir wanted to cut luichi. They were to start recording two days later. Study time was booked and I had to make a decision right away. said Rocky I was interested in learning more and told me that I had to talk to Muir. At the time, I played bass a lot at night, but also supported my family with a regular “day” job. He was married with a son (who is now married as well), so I had to get the details from Muir and be sure that I would be able to pay enough for my family. Here I was at a crossroads where I had never toured, never recorded, and might have to turn down my dream job if there wasn’t enough money. I couldn’t leave my family homeless while I went on a trip. So I had to talk to Muir. I went down to see Muir where he lived, the Streets Of Venice skate shop in Lincoln, and sat with him in that upstairs room you see in the ‘how shall i laugh’ video. We talked for about three or four hours. He said that he could pay me (alone) enough, but he seemed torn if he really wanted to cut luichi mayorga of the band He kept explaining to me why luichi I had to go, which I really didn’t care about. I just wanted to hear him say, ‘You’re the new bass player for SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.’ Finally, she did. What was really strange and something I will never forget is finding luichi waiting downstairs when I left the room. Someone must have called him and told him that he was talking privately with Muir. luichi He asked me what happened upstairs and I said, ‘Well… I’m in and you’re out.’ He heard it from me first. I still regret saying that to him. He was always very nice to me, but he didn’t want to lie to her. I just didn’t know what else to say.”

When asked what was the best moment he had with the band, beto said: “When Miguel he said he was in the band and told me what time we would meet him in the studio the next day, I was very happy, especially since my wife supported me, even if it meant some difficulties for us. SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and played some great shows in the US and Europe, and also some really bad ones, where there were no fans because someone screwed up the publicity/promotion. The best in Europe were probably the shows in Paris and Milan, the latter I think at the Rolling Stone club. I was sick as a dog but I remember the fans were great so I worked hard for them. The Royal Academy in London was also a great show: a great stage and many fans. The Netherlands and Belgium were also excellent. mike clark he was my roommate for almost a whole year in all the hotels. He and I got along very well and played a lot and talked about future projects. It was the first real professional tour for both of us and we had a lot of fun together. I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch with him after I got cut.”

As for the worst moment you had with the band, beto he said: “A low point, of course, was when the Weasel manager phoned me to say that my services were no longer needed, especially as we were about to start work on a new record and I wanted to share my new ‘ low voice’ luichi had done and Roberto Trujillo would do later. Another bad memory: I felt really bad about getting the drum tech in trouble when we landed at Heathrow airport, which ended with him being deported to the US and missing the entire European tour. I later found out that he was trying to enter the country as a tourist without a work permit and I started an investigation by shouting his name at the customs counter. If someone had told me before, it never would have happened. The worst show was probably Belfast, where the fans spat on us to show their approval. Of course, there was also a bomb threat, and the hotel looked like something out of a war movie with bunkers and obstacles in the driveway to prevent someone from coming into the lobby with a car bomb. All the shows in Germany were horrible because the promoter pulled out and no one knew we were there. That was painful. And they booked us many dates in Germany. The beer was good though.”