Sandy Cheeks (The Infection)

Sandy Cheeks (September 27th, 1971 - July 14th, 2017; body later found on July 16th) was an American musician, bass guitarist, a singer who was best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band The Infection.

Cheeks died on July 14th, 2017 of cocaine toxicity; but her body was later found in her Johannesburg home two days later. She was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, with The Infection.



Early Life
Sandy Cheeks was born in a poor area of Houston, Texas. She'd shown interest in music from the age of four, where she'd put rubber bands up to her ear and play them like a guitar, listening to the tones and other noises that came out.

Early Career/Lone Wolves
When Sandy was twelve, she formed a band with friends from school called "Lone Wolves" and by the age of fourteen, consisting of her high school friend Victoria Jackson and Shirley Manson, she had a record deal with a small company (Touch and Go) which would later go on to release records by The Infection and SpongeBob SquarePants.

The Infection
In April 1988, shortly after leaving Lone Wolves due to creative differences, Sandy was approached by a man with a Southern-British accent after a solo show, asking if she wanted to join a band called "Wince." Sandy heard the demos and immediately signed up as the bassist of the band. She was the primary force behind the 2nd demo album of Wince; Self-Titled.

After Wince dissolved in 1991, Sandy found herself back at her parents' house, struggling to live off of her part-time job, because she was attending college at the time.

Two years later, SpongeBob phoned her home address after three years of keeping in touch, saying that he'd come to an agreement with the other members and The Infection was formed. Sandy was the bassist from then until her death.

Death
On July 16th, 2017, Sandy was found dead in her Johannesburg home, about two days after her death. The autopsy reported of cocaine toxicity, alcohol in her blood stream that was way over the lethal amount and a significant amount of heroin. Sandy had committed suicide by overdose. There have been fifteen cases of copycat suicide.

After the announcement of her death, SpongeBob issued a heart-shattering message from his hospital bed, saying that Sandy was missed by all of her bandmates and fans, before shutting off the camera, tears streaming down his face.

Legacy
After Sandy's death, many bands, including the remaining members of Soundgarden, Failure, Foo Fighters, and Spacehog have made statements regarding this, Failure even going as far as going on a tribute tour with The Infection opening for them. The music video for Batter Up is dedicated to Sandy Cheeks.

Lone Wolves

 * 1984 - Wrath of Batman - lead vocals, lead guitar
 * 1985 - The Wonder Years - lead vocals, lead guitar
 * 1987 - Lone Wolves - lead vocals, lead guitar

Wince/The Vaccine Slaughterhouse Band

 * 1989 - An Old Friend - bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Laugh"
 * 1991 - Self-Titled (Wince album) bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Dear One"
 * 1993 - The Mike Richards Demos - bass guitar, backing vocals
 * 1994 - Vaccine Slaughterhouse - bass guitar, backing vocals

The Infection

 * 1995 - A Number of My Lifes - bass guitar, backing vocals 

World of Fire
 * 1997 - Traffic Jam - bass guitar, backing vocals, drums, precession
 * 1998 - Lost & Found (Sandy Cheeks Solo Demo Album) - lead guitar, lead vocals, bass guitar, drums, precession
 * 1999 - Disparate Realms Demos - bass guitar, backing vocals
 * 2000 - Disparate Realms - bass guitar, backing vocals
 * 2002 - Self-Titled - bass guitar, backing vocals
 * 2003 - Disparate Realms II - bass guitar, backing vocals
 * 2015 - Greatest Hits - bass guitar, backing vocals, drums, precession on "We Need An Replacement"
 * 2015 - Magic Tricks: The Infection Documentary - co-producer
 * 2017 - The Piece Of The Action trilogy (Vol. 1: Piece Of The Action/Vol. 2: Love-109/Vol. 3: Legend of the Realms) - bass guitar, backing vocals\
 * 2018 - Infection: Days of Destruction (posthumous release)
 * 2005 - Reign of Terror - bass guitar, backing vocals


 * 2007 - Dirty Minds - bass guitar, backing vocals 

The Secret-But-Not-So-Secret Band

 * 1999 - Revolution - lead guitar
 * 2001 - Don't Be Scared - lead guitar
 * 2002 - Sky-Virus - lead guitar
 * 2005 - My Skin - lead guitar
 * 2007 - Creation Of The Angel - lead guitar
 * 2012 - December - lead guitar
 * 2018 - The Sadness - lead guitar (posthumous release)

Elliott Smith

 * 1998 - XO - bass guitar 

Everlast

 * 1998 - Whitey Ford Sings the Blues - bass guitar (tracks 3, 8, 12)
 * 2004 - White Trash Beautiful - bass guitar (tracks 3, 7, 11)

Oasis

 * 1994 - Definitely Maybe - bass guitar
 * 1995 - (What's the Story) Morning Glory? - bass guitar, backing vocals on "Wonderwall"

Seether

 * 2002 - Disclaimer - drums, procession, backing vocals

Fokofpolisiekar

 * 2004 - Lugsteuring - bass guitar, backing vocals
 * 2006 - Swanesang - bass guitar, backing vocals
 * 2008 - Antibiotika - bass guitar, backing vocals

Fuzigish

 * 2002 - Southern Ska Stomper - bass guitar
 * 2004 - Exploited and Distorted - bass guitar

Spacehog

 * 1995 - Resident Alien - Bass guitar, Moog synthesizer, Hammond organ, keyboards
 * 1998 - The Chinese Album - Bass guitar
 * 2001 - The Hogyssey - Bass guitar