Victory Records boss Tony Brummel has released a statement following the death of John “Beatz” Holohan, drummer of Bayside, who was killed when his band’s van hit a patch of ice and flipped outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming yesterday. He was 31. Bayside bassist Nick Ghanbarian was also seriously injured in the crash and remains in hospital. The band was on tour with labelmates Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein and Aiden and the tour has been postponed temporarily. The VR statement reads: “John Beatz was an integral part of Victory’s Artist Family. He was a gifted, caring and special human being. He epitomized that NYC, street-smart, rock musician flair in everything he did. As a Chicago guy, I always felt like I was communicating with a brother from another neighborhood on the other side of one big city. He made the music. I got it into the stores and helped make people aware that it existed. John was the type of Artist that I always wanted to fight for. He was appreciative and wanted to win not only for himself, but, more importantly, for the team. His phone calls and daily e-mail updates were always a reminder as to why I am in this business. I will miss them. Every time I heard from him he told me that he was “having the time of his life.” He played every show like it would be his last. None of us were ready for that show to end. The “Beatz” will go on and will never be forgotten.”
