Died On This Date (July 3, 2008) Noel Sayre / Black Swans; Pretty Mighty Mighty
themusicsover Noel Sayre
DOB Unknown – July 3, 2008
Noel Sayre was a respected young violinist from the Columbus, OH area. Born in West Virginia, Sayre studied music at Ohio University. He played with the West Virginia and Portsmouth Symphony Orchestras. After moving permanently to Columbus in the mid ’90s, Sayre played with rock band, Pretty Mighty Mighty before forming his own band, the Black Swans. Sayre reportedly suffered a heart attack while swimming in a community swimming pool. He passed away after being on life support at an area hospital. He was 37.
Born in Russia, Natasha Shneider, was a multi-instrumentalist and singer for, most notably, ’90s rock band Eleven. Shneider moved to the United States, where her band, with former Red Hot Chili Pepper, Jack Irons and husband, Alain Johannes, had a few minor hits through the early ’90s thanks to their hard alternative rock sound that was part grunge and part funk-metal. In later years, Shneider and Johannes lent their talents on recordings by No Doubt, Chris Cornell, and Queens Of The Stone Age, with whom they also toured. Natasha Shneider lost her battle with cancer on July 2, 2008.
Philip Lithman, or as he was known professionally, Snakefinger was an English multi-instrumentalist who is best known for his collaborations with the Residents. Although he came out of the British blues scene, Lithman’s guitar fret work had more in common with Robert Fripp than John Mayall. In 1971, Lithman moved to San Francisco where he hooked up with avant-garde art rockers, the Residents to perform in their live band. Over the next few years would move back to the UK and then back to California where he shopped around a light rock album and eventually hooked back up with the Residents. In 1982, Lithman put together his own backing band called the Vestal Virgins. It was with this band that Lithman was performing in Austria on July 1, 1987. Midway during the show, Lithman died of a heart attack.
