No Use for a Name’s Tony Sly dies at 41

Tony Sly, the frontman for the popular San Jose melodic hard-core band No Use for a Name, has died at age 41, according to a statement from the band’s record label Fat Wreck Chords.

The statement didn’t include a specific cause of death or location, but label founder Mike Burkett (who also fronts the skate-punk act NOFX), said: “One of my dearest friends and favorite song writers has gone way too soon. Tony, you will be greatly missed.”

No Use for a Name grew out of the Bay Area hard-core scene in the late ‘80s and ‘90s, and became known for its hook-driven punk and Sly’s tender and harmony-rich vocal style on albums including the band’s best-regarded full-length, 1999’s “More Betterness.” The group’s lead guitarist, Chris Shiflett, later joined Foo Fighters, and Sly made a late-career turn to acoustic-driven pop on two solo albums, the latest being 2011’s “Sad Bear,” and two collaborations with Lagwagon’s Joey Cape. No Use for a Name’s most recent album was 2008’s “The Feel Good Record of the Year.”

On a more personal note, one my first concerts was a No Use for a Name show in Jacksonville where, as an underage punker, I sneaked in by showing up three hours early and carrying Sly’s guitar into the venue for a soundcheck. In memoriam, here’s a video for “Coming Too Close,” which I had on repeat during nearly every shift I worked at the disgusting pizza restaurant where I got my record-buying money as a teenager.

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