Welsh - who joined the band in 1998 following the departure of Matt Sharp but left several months after the release of their self-titled 2001 album following a nervous breakdown - was in Illinois to see his former bandmates perform at the RiotFest show the following day. Police say that emergency services responded to a call at the Raffaello Hotel in Chicago, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Results of an autopsy will be revealed later this week.
"Mikey was planning on attending this show and we were looking forward to seeing him again," said Weezer in an official statement. "As sad as it is to think about, we know Mikey would never want the rock stopped on his account - quite the contrary in fact. While we won't see him, we know he will be there rocking out with us!
"When he emerged from his nervous breakdown that spelled his exit from the rock n' roll world, he took on a new role as an astonishing and pure visual artist. It was a glorious flowering of a talent he always possessed, but he had chosen to rock out first, paint later. We will miss him terribly. Our deepest heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends. The world has lost a truly one of a kind guy."
Bizarrely, Welsh, who later pursued a career as an artist following his stint in Weezer, predicted his own death in a post on Twitter on September 26.
"[I] dreamt I died in Chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep)," he wrote. "Need to write my will today."
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