Dave Rosser

Dave Rosser, who played guitar for alternative rock band the Afghan Whigs, died on Tuesday, June 27, 2017, from colon cancer. He was 50. The band announced Rosser’s death in a Facebook post on Wednesday: “It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our friend, brother and inspiration. Dave Rosser passed away peacefully last evening surrounded by love. Thank you to all who kept him in their hearts. He is forever in ours.”

Earlier in his career, Rosser played guitar and wrote songs for a number of artists and bands, including Ani DiFranco, Tim Heidecker, and two of Afghan Whigs lead singer Greg Dulli’s side projects, The Gutter Twins and the Twilight Singers. Following the Afghan Whigs’ reunion in 2011 after a ten-year hiatus, Dulli recruited Rosser to join the band in 2014.

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Rosser toured with the Afghan Whigs and played guitar on two albums, 2014’s Do to the Beast and In Spades, released in 2017. In October, 2016, the band announced that Rosser had been diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer. To help defray Rosser’s medical bills, the band organized two benefit concerts that included performances by Moby, Eagles of Death Metal, Ani DiFranco, and others.

Rosser bowed out of recent tour dates. Just a month before his death, he told Guitar World Magazine “I just finished the first six months of chemo and am taking a break. I’m feeling pretty good and my spirits are good. I record a lot at the house and have been making a lot of music with friends. I’m staying busy and have purpose. I’ll try to get out and meet the band on a few stops in Europe where they’ll be for a few days.”