Pitchfork

Guitar Wolf bassist Hideaki Sekiguchi, known to fans as Billy, died Wednesday of heart failure at age 38. Sekiguchi's heart had stopped in his sleep at home the previous night, and he later died in a Tokyo hospital, said publicist Billy Nord of Narnack Records. Sekiguchi had no prior history of heart problems. He leaves behind his wife Naoko and two children; his funeral is scheduled for April 6 in Tokyo.

The band had just returned Sunday from a monthlong North American tour, and were slated to play an April 9 show in Tokyo before touring Australia. All future dates have been cancelled, and the band's continued existence is uncertain. In an odd coincidence, Narnack was already preparing an expanded U.S. release of I Love Guitar Wolf Very Much, a tribute album featuring the Coachwhips, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Lightning Bolt, J. Mascis and the Fog, and Puffy AmiYumi, among others. The album came out last year in Japan and will be issued in the U.S. soon, Nord said.