SALIVA's BOBBY AMARU Explains Decision To Carry On Following WAYNE SWINNY's Death

In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, SALIVA frontman Bobby Amaru spoke about the band's decision to carry on following founding guitarist Wayne Swinny's March 2023 death after suffering a brain hemorrhage while on tour. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I tossed it up, man, and when he passed away, I kind of questioned whether I even wanted to do it or not. And I had tough decisions [to make], man. But I thought about what he would have wanted. I thought about a lot of our conversations and kind of went back to a lot of that. And he was at my house literally five days before he passed, cutting a solo on one of the last songs for the 'Revelation' record. And that was a very fun and interesting day, doing that and just hanging with him. And I remember we went and got Thai food. And he got a number two, and, dude, his mouth was literally like numb on fire. He could not handle it, dude. He was drinking milk and water and all kinds of stuff. But we had so many great times, and I know how he felt about what we were doing with SALIVA. I knew how he felt about the new record.

"I think sometimes people don't give me credit either for being here 13 years, and they just kind of wanna assume the early days — forget all the other stuff; it's just all about the early days," Bobby continued. "And I get the legacy of SALIVA and the brand, and I've never disrespected that one bit and I've always just tried to take the high road. But sometimes, man, when things are going on behind your back and stuff, too, and sometimes people just play the victim in all of this and you're the problem, like I'm the issue or something as to why SALIVA is continuing to go on. And it's, like, I'm just doing what I've been doing the last 13 years, which is keeping the train on the track. I felt like we did a lot of really cool things last year. We played a bunch of DWP [Danny Wimmer Presents] shows and a bunch of really cool festivals… That was fun. And we had a really successful tour with DROWNING POOL. And it felt like the right thing to do was to just keep going forward, keep moving into the direction that we feel is positive and keeps things on track. It's no disrespect to the old stuff and the old band — I never would take any credit away from any of those guys — but I think brands, fans, especially, sometimes they forget it is a business, and businesses do still go on after members leave. It's always touchy. You're never gonna please everybody. You're always gonna have people who just hate it regardless, but you can't please everybody. And I've always lived by that from day one. Like when I came in the band, it was, like, 'Well, what are you gonna say to people that don't like it?' People are gonna like it or they're not gonna like it. You can't please everyone."

Swinny was the last remaining original member of SALIVA, which he formed in Memphis in 1996 with Josey Scott, Chris Dabaldo, Dave Novotny and Paul Crosby.

On March 22, 2023, SALIVA shared a statement on Facebook in which the band said that Swinny had been found that morning "in medical distress." Paramedics were called and the musician was transported to hospital "where he was diagnosed with a Spontaneous Hemorrhage in his brain."

SALIVA's current lineup consists of Amaru and bassist Brad Stewart alongside Sammi Jo Bishop (drums),Sebastian LaBar (guitar) and Josh Kulack (guitar).

SALIVA launched its career in 2001 with the release of "Every Six Seconds", a double-platinum selling album with hits that include "Click Click Boom" and "Your Disease".

The band has toured the U.S. with SEVENDUST, AEROSMITH and KISS.

SALIVA reunited with Josey for a one-off appearance at the 2022 edition of the Blue Ridge Rock Festival at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

Scott left SALIVA at the end of 2011 after 15 years with the group, reportedly to pursue a solo Christian music career. He was quickly replaced by Amaru, who can be heard on SALIVA's last five releases: "In It To Win It" (2013),"Rise Up" (2014),"Love, Lies & Therapy" (2016),"10 Lives" (2018) and "Revelation" (2023).

SALIVA released six albums with Scott and tasted platinum success and a Grammy nomination for its first big hit, "Your Disease".

In May 2021, SALIVA celebrated the 20th anniversary of its breakthrough major label debut, "Every Six Seconds", with a special project called "Every Twenty Years", an EP of classic songs re-recorded with Amaru.

On November 1, SALIVA released a new single, "Time Bomb", featuring a guest appearance by post-grunge vocalist Peyton Parrish.

Future SALIVA releases will be available via Judge & Jury Records, a powerhouse record label and production company founded by multi-platinum producer Howard Benson (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, SEETHER, SKILLET, OF MICE & MEN) and Neil Sanderson of THREE DAYS GRACE.

Photo credit: Gabriel Goulding