Ex-Weezer bassist found dead in hotel room

Former Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh died Saturday, the musician's family and the band said. He was 40.

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Citing authorities, the Chicago Tribune reported that Welsh was found unresponsive on the floor of a hotel room in the city at around 2:50 p.m. on Saturday.

In a message posted on Twitter, the band said: "We are shocked and deeply saddened to hear the awful news, our friend and fellow weez rocker @mikeywelsh71 has passed away. We love u Mikey."

Earlier, Welsh's family tweeted that Welsh had "passed away unexpectedly."

"He will forever be remembered as an amazing father, artist, and friend," their statement added. "May he rest in peace."

According to NME.com, Welsh joined Weezer after original bassist Matt Sharp quit in 1998. He played on Weezer's self-titled album, which is also known as "The Green Album," before leaving the band in August 2001.

The Hollywood Reporter said that Welsh had attempted suicide in the past. It also quoted Welsh as saying in a 2007 interview that a "lifetime of doing drugs and being undiagnosed as having ... (a) borderline personality disorder finally caught up with me when I was 30 years old. At the beginning of a 3-month European tour with Weezer, I started slowly falling apart."

Welsh had been focusing on painting in recent years. He reportedly lived in Burlington, Vt.

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Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44834333/ns/today-today_people/

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