News started circulating last night that Vince Bocchini of Phoenix, AZ's Thee Unfortunates had passed away. No cause of death has been determined. Bocchini also led The Van Buren Wheels in the late 90s/early 00s and Rabid Rabbit in the mid-80s, the latter many say introduced Arizona to the glam-meets-psychedelic post-punk sound that Janes Addiction made famous years later. When a proper tribute is published, I will update this blog and give my readers links.

Vince was one of the first musicians I met when I moved to the Phoenix area in the late 80s. Rabid Rabbit had just broken up and Vince was looking for start a new band, so I answered an ad. We met up a few times, never really jammed, and lost touch, until I got to hang out with him backstage at a TSOL reunion show in 1991. My interactions with him have been few and brief, but I did know him as kind-hearted. He and Thee Unfortunates eagerly agreed to play a last minute benefit show for equipment stolen from Blanche Davidian a few years back and we always appreciated his selflessness. Vince will be truly missed.

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