Aged 54, D.O.A. and THE REAL MCKENZIES guitarist Dave Gregg died on March 30. Reports says that he had a heart attack after a possible aneurysm. My deepest condolences go to Dave Gregg’s friends and family. Dave joined DOA in 1980 to record the band’s debut album called “Something Better Change”, followed by the legendary outing “Hardcore ’81”. He left the band in 1988.
Yahoo News reported that he was visiting family in Vancouver with his wife when he suddenly started not feeling well and laid down to take some rest. His wife checked on him some time later and found him unconscious. Dave was transported to the hospital in a coma and went into liver and kidney failure, which led to his passing.
D.O.A. commented:
D.O.A. guitarist Dave Gregg – Rest in Peace
It is with unbelievable sorrow that I have to talk about the passing of Dave Gregg. He died of a heart attack this past weekend. I can’t even come close to being able to express strong enough condolences to his wife Cathy and the rest of Dave’s family.
Dave was a member of D.O.A. from 1980-88 and played some screaming guitar licks on the following albums: Something Better Change, Hardcore 81, War on 45, Let’s Wreck The Party, True North Strong and Free and finally on Murder. He was a great guitarist and an unbelievable showman.
But more importantly he was genuinely nice guy and a caring human being, who had one of the most wicked senses of humor I have ever come across.
On long D.O.A. tours Dave (usually the overnight driver) and I along with our comrades Chuck Biscuits, Randy Rampage, Ken Lester, Dimwit (R.I.P.), Brian “Wimpy Roy” Goble, Greg “Peckerwood” James and Jon Card would while away the hours with almost endless conversation. But it
usually came down to Dave and I still gabbing into the wee hours. We would scheme about how to change the world and possible wild scientific breakthroughs as we endlessly put up really shitty music on the radio (not much has changed). Dave and I also became very familiar with prices of every kind of crop grown across America and many a gospel preacher on that same radio in the Dodge van we called the Blue Bullet. At one point when D.O.A. had been playing close to 10 years, Dave and I calculated that we had spent four of those 10 years in vans, traveling to shows. As Dave drove he would furiously work his way through bag after bag of spits (sunflower seeds), he would deposit the shells in the door sill of the driver side door until the pile would reach a height of about 12 inches, that was a badge of honor.On our first tour with Dave he got really drunk at the second show and forgot about half the arrangements,
as he stood on the opposite side of the circular bar at the venue we had just played, he smirked at me with a particularly dazed look, I realized I had to get him to shape up, so I threw my 3/4 full can of beer across the bar and nailed him in the forehead. Dave rarely forgot an arrangement after that and went on to become a consummate musician and performer.I could probably write a book about funny Dave Gregg stories and maybe even promote his one man organization: The New Spartans! LOL
I really wish I had one more chance to sit down with him and cover some of that ground again and explore new avenues of thought, but I can’t and that sucks.
Dave, we will all miss you tremendously, but you will live on in our hearts.
Long live the spirit of Dave Gregg !!!
Joe Shithead Keithley – March 31st, 2014
(Photos from a show called The Eastern Front 1981 Berkeley, California photo by Amy Mann)
Perryscope Productions issued the following statement:
“Words cannot describe the sense of loss going through me or the sadness we all feel for Dave’s family and especially his soul mate Cathy to whom we send our warmest thoughts and condolences. There is no one who met or worked or laughed with Dave that does not remember his uniqueness and love of life. Peace.”
Dave Gregg, Randy Rampage, Chuck Biscuits and Joey Shithead – DOA 1980:
