Punkobit: Tony Sly

Tony Sly, singer with No Use For A Name, has died. There's a statement from Fat Wreck Chords:

It is with great sorrow that we must say goodbye to Tony Sly of No Use For A Name. We received a call earlier today of his passing, and are devastated. We have lost an incredible talent, friend, and father – one of the true greats. Fat Mike had this to say: “One of my dearest friends and favorite song writers has gone way too soon. Tony, you will be greatly missed.”

Sly joined No Use For A Name two years in, after the second ep, but before the first album.

Alongside his punk day job, he teamed up with Joey Cape for two albums of acoustic reworkings:

Tony Sly - On the Outside / Joey Cape - Wind in your Sail from Fabien Rivenet/Vincent Bergeron on Vimeo.

Sly had reached the point where he was balancing a punky life on stage with a family life at home. Last year, he explained to The Punk Site how that worked for him:

It takes a day or two to adjust to both. Right now, I’m still in dad mode adjusting to the tour. It’s nice not to have that responsibility on your shoulders all the time, looking over your shoulders wondering if someone is writing on walls or grabbing a pair of scissors and running down the street. Touring is a bit more relaxed. It’s a double edged sword, when you are on tour you want to go home, but when you are home you want to be on tour. I think that the key is to embrace the freedom you get when you are on tour. When I come home and I’m a full time dad, it’s hard coming home from a long tour, it’s not easy, but it’s what I have to do. It’s who I am.

No Use For A Name had last released an album in 2008; they'd been working on a follow-up over the last couple of years.

Tony Sly was 41.