Joel Selvin’s article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle fills in a lot of details, including the gruesome means of Vince’s departure.
It also gives a little more information about Vince’s December 1995 suicide attempt in Santa Cruz. Add that to what Bobby told me on the air 6/14, that they checked him in at the ER as “John Doe” to keep it out of the newspapers, and you wind up with a much more humane story than vincewelnick.com webmaster Mike Lawson’s initial blast (which he moderated considerably not long after) suggested.
I’m on the road, on a terrible connection, so I can’t add anything at the moment.
Read it if you have the stomach.
I read it, since the Chron comes to my doorstep and I couldn’t miss the big picture of Vince on the front of the Datebook section alongside Joel Selvin’s article. You’re right, David, that it does fill in a lot of details about the past 10 years of Vince’s life. I had not previously heard about his health problems with the cancer and emphysema, nor the other comments from some of the musicians about Vince’s hopes for a reunion and ensuing depression.
Hope your road trek was a healing experience and I’ll see ya on the air soon.
-DP
My brother thanks you for this post. Very Interesting. He knew vince and misses his friend.