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\n\tDavid Roach, singer and founding member of the late-Eighties hard-rock band Junkyard<\/a>, died Friday after a battle with cancer. The group announced<\/a> Roach\u2019s death in a post on social media on Saturday. He was 59.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAfter a courageous battle with cancer, David passed away peacefully last night at home, in the loving arms of his wife,\u201d the statement read. \u201cHe was a gifted artist, performer, songwriter, and singer \u2014 but above all, a devoted father, husband, and brother.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhile a niche band on Los Angeles\u2019 jam-packed Sunset Strip scene<\/a> of the 1980s, Junkyard stood out for their edgy, blues-based sound and biker look. They were more in line with early Guns N\u2019 Roses, both in music and aesthetic, and even the Black Crowes, who\u2019d later open for Junkyard, than make-up and hairspray groups like Poison or Warrant. And Roach\u2019s raspy voice \u2014 a mix of Southern drawl (he was from Dallas, Texas), cigarette smoke, and a lot of attitude \u2014\u00a0was the driving force.<\/p>\n \n\tJunkyard formed in Los Angeles in 1987, with Roach as frontman, Chris Gates on guitar, and, for a brief moment, skateboarding pioneer Tony Alva on bass. Guitarist Brian Baker, who\u2019d go on to play in Bad Religion, joined in 1989 and, that same year, the group released their self-titled debut album on Geffen, also label home to the likeminded GN\u2019R.<\/p>\n \n\tDespite being more of a blues-rock band than heavy metal, the group gained early traction on MTV\u2019s Headbangers Ball<\/a><\/em> with its video for \u201cHollywood,\u201d a tale of desperation and hustling in one of America\u2019s most mythologized neighborhoods. \u201cSee the boy on the corner\/he\u2019s only 12 years old\/every night he\u2019s out there doing his best\/to get his goodies sold,\u201d Roach sneered to kick off the song. \u201cWhat Hollywood was to us when we were all living there together,\u201d is how Roach described the track in the album\u2019s press materials. \u201cProstitutes, crack-dealers on the front porch. It wasn\u2019t culture shock exactly, but it was a learning experience.\u201d<\/p>\n