David Roach, lead vocalist for the Los Angeles heavy rockers Junkyard, has died. "After a courageous battle with cancer, David passed away peacefully last night at home, in the loving arms of his wife," his bandmates wrote on Instagram Saturday. According to Express he was 64, though Rolling Stone says he was 59. Roach had gotten married just two weeks before his death.
Roach co-founded Junkyard in 1987, with the band eventually landing on a core lineup of Roach, guitarist Chris Gates, bassist Clay Anthony, drummer Patrick Muzingo, and guitarist Brian Baker, the latter of whom had also played in Minor Threat and Dag Nasty. They released two albums on Geffen before the label dropped them in 1992, and they disbanded shortly thereafter. The music they'd been working on at the time of their breakup was later self-released in 1998 across two albums, titles Joker and XXX. In the meantime, Roach went on to form another band called Borracho.
Junkyard reunited for live shows around 2000, and continued to occasionally release archival material. In 2017 they returned with High Water, their first proper studio album in over 20 years. In 2025 Junkyard announced that Roach had been diagnosed with aggressive squamous cell carcinoma: "David is a true friend to everyone he meets. He has a knack for making people feel special and appreciated, and his incredible sense of humor always brings laughter and happiness to those around him," read a GoFundMe organized by his loved ones. "His generous spirit really shines through in everything he does, including donating his amazing artwork to support others."
Revisit some of Junkyard's songs below.
